‘A long slog’: Failed condo project in Dillon selling to developer for $13M

Uptown2

Uptown 240 is a partially built condo complex at 240 Lake Dillon Dr. in Dillon. (Hilco Real Estate/Vimeo)

Nearly five years after breaking ground on what was to be an $80 million condo complex, and being called “an inspiration” by Dillon’s mayor for doing so, the developers of the bankrupt and still-unbuilt Uptown 240 project will sell it to another developer for $12.8 million.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas McNamara signed off on the sale Monday, finding the price “fair and reasonable under the circumstances.” His order wiped away 15 liens on the 240 Lake Dillon Drive property that were filed by contractors who haven’t been paid for their work on Uptown 240.

The sale is a final blow to the dozens of people who paid a collective $6.5 million for condos at Uptown 240 they will never see. They will split just $75,000 from the sale. $150,000 will go to the brokerage Hilco and $123,000 will go to the Town of Dillon to cover water fees.

Uptown 240’s new owner is Porritt Group, a Michigan developer that bought Uptown 240’s debt in 2022. Porritt will deduct the $9.2 million it is owed from the purchase price.

Porrit “looks forward to closing on the purchase of the property later this month and then working with the Town of Dillon to satisfy its requirements in order for this project to move forward as soon as possible,” said Paul Urtz, the developer’s attorney.

“It’s been a long slog for them and even longer for the town of Dillon,” said the lawyer, of Miller & Urtz in Denver. “I’m sure the town is eager to see this project move forward.”

Porritt Group has shown considerable interest in downtown Dillon in recent years, pitching town leaders on a major redevelopment there. That proposed redevelopment has already caused a popular cafe in downtown Dillon to close, the Summit Daily reported.

Uptown Shot4

The Uptown 240 development in Dillon is pictured on Oct. 21, 2021. (Libby Standord/Summit Daily)

Uptown 240’s sale was initially slated to be approved Jan. 3 but an eleventh-hour objection was filed by CallComm Mining, a telecom company in Denver that claims to have a lease there and a right to buy the land. Uptown 240’s owners say the lease was terminated in 2019.

A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Wednesday but canceled when CallComm settled with Porritt Group. Reached by phone this week, CallComm’s owner was not happy.

“I got maybe five percent of the value of what I put into it,” said John Gazzo. “I put a half-million dollars into that piece of property and got less than five percent of that.”

Uptown 240’s initial developers were brother and sister Danilo and Chantelle Ottoborgo. Their attorney, Keri Riley, declined to discuss the sale of Uptown 240 this week.

Gazzo, who lived next door to the Ottoborgos in Dillon for 20 years, regrets trusting them. Under an agreement with his former neighbors, CallComm was supposed to get a penthouse condo at Uptown 240, a lease for rooftop space so it could put its antenna there, and become the exclusive telecom provider for Uptown 240. None of that will happen now.

“It’s embarrassing for me that I believed them. I was so close to walking away from them. I should have known it was too good to be true,” Gazzo recalled of Uptown 240’s previous developers, before sharing his thoughts on Uptown 240’s future developers.

“The people of Summit County should know that they’re dealing with some shysters in Porritt,” he said. “I don’t mean to sound like cancel culture but they should cancel them.”

Uptown2

Uptown 240 is a partially built condo complex at 240 Lake Dillon Dr. in Dillon. (Hilco Real Estate/Vimeo)

Nearly five years after breaking ground on what was to be an $80 million condo complex, and being called “an inspiration” by Dillon’s mayor for doing so, the developers of the bankrupt and still-unbuilt Uptown 240 project will sell it to another developer for $12.8 million.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas McNamara signed off on the sale Monday, finding the price “fair and reasonable under the circumstances.” His order wiped away 15 liens on the 240 Lake Dillon Drive property that were filed by contractors who haven’t been paid for their work on Uptown 240.

The sale is a final blow to the dozens of people who paid a collective $6.5 million for condos at Uptown 240 they will never see. They will split just $75,000 from the sale. $150,000 will go to the brokerage Hilco and $123,000 will go to the Town of Dillon to cover water fees.

Uptown 240’s new owner is Porritt Group, a Michigan developer that bought Uptown 240’s debt in 2022. Porritt will deduct the $9.2 million it is owed from the purchase price.

Porrit “looks forward to closing on the purchase of the property later this month and then working with the Town of Dillon to satisfy its requirements in order for this project to move forward as soon as possible,” said Paul Urtz, the developer’s attorney.

“It’s been a long slog for them and even longer for the town of Dillon,” said the lawyer, of Miller & Urtz in Denver. “I’m sure the town is eager to see this project move forward.”

Porritt Group has shown considerable interest in downtown Dillon in recent years, pitching town leaders on a major redevelopment there. That proposed redevelopment has already caused a popular cafe in downtown Dillon to close, the Summit Daily reported.

Uptown Shot4

The Uptown 240 development in Dillon is pictured on Oct. 21, 2021. (Libby Standord/Summit Daily)

Uptown 240’s sale was initially slated to be approved Jan. 3 but an eleventh-hour objection was filed by CallComm Mining, a telecom company in Denver that claims to have a lease there and a right to buy the land. Uptown 240’s owners say the lease was terminated in 2019.

A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Wednesday but canceled when CallComm settled with Porritt Group. Reached by phone this week, CallComm’s owner was not happy.

“I got maybe five percent of the value of what I put into it,” said John Gazzo. “I put a half-million dollars into that piece of property and got less than five percent of that.”

Uptown 240’s initial developers were brother and sister Danilo and Chantelle Ottoborgo. Their attorney, Keri Riley, declined to discuss the sale of Uptown 240 this week.

Gazzo, who lived next door to the Ottoborgos in Dillon for 20 years, regrets trusting them. Under an agreement with his former neighbors, CallComm was supposed to get a penthouse condo at Uptown 240, a lease for rooftop space so it could put its antenna there, and become the exclusive telecom provider for Uptown 240. None of that will happen now.

“It’s embarrassing for me that I believed them. I was so close to walking away from them. I should have known it was too good to be true,” Gazzo recalled of Uptown 240’s previous developers, before sharing his thoughts on Uptown 240’s future developers.

“The people of Summit County should know that they’re dealing with some shysters in Porritt,” he said. “I don’t mean to sound like cancel culture but they should cancel them.”

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