SAN DIEGO The owners of the upper-upscale boutique Sè San Diego, which opened two years ago at a cost of US$150 million, are seeking court permission to put the 184-key property up for sale.
Bankrupt 5th Avenue Partners LLC has asked for approval to hire CB Richard Ellis to market the hotel and an adjoining building that houses a House of Blues. The owners have not disclosed an asking price, but one local real estate broker estimates that the properties could fetch US$50 million.
Before Sè can be put on the market, the hotel’s owners must overcome objections raised by creditors. “We feel (the creditors’ objection) is meritless on so many levels,” attorney Marc Winthrop, who represents 5th Avenue Partners, tells San Diego Union-Tribune. “They’re feeling petulant they were left out of the decision. This property is worth far less than the amount of debt against it, so the proceeds from a sale could be paid to the lender, and there’d be no money left over, so what kind of reorganization plan could you do?”
Originally known as Setai San Diego, the hotel was forced to change its name prior to its December 2008 opening after being sued by The Setai Group, owner of The Setai in Miami. Contributing to Sè’s financial woes is that its 23-unit condo-hotel component remains completely unsold.