A bankruptcy court has approved the purchase of a bankrupt 309-room hotel near Ontario’s airport by affordable housing developer National Community Renaissance. The only true has learned.
The nonprofit organization, known as National CORE, bought the Ontario Airport Hotel and Conference Center, a 10-story building at 700 North Haven Avenue, for $20.7 million, court records show. The 18,500-square-foot hotel houses a Chinese restaurant called Mr. J and offers rooms with advertised nightly rates starting at $90, according to Expedia.
The purchase price covers the $18.2 million debt on the property and includes an additional $2.5 million in cash. However, the Rancho Cucamonga-based company may have to pay more than the $20.7 million because it also has to pay an unspecified amount in “remediation costs” related to the hotel’s leases and contracts.
The transaction came six months after the property’s previous owner, Morgan Holding Group, filed for bankruptcy. The company, led by Jianhua Jin, sought to block lender Cathay Bank, which attempted to put the property into receivership. Cathay provided a $15 million construction loan for the hotel in 2019.
National CORE entered into a purchase agreement for the property on August 2, according to a statement from Robert Diaz, the company’s general counsel. In an August 13 court order, Judge Magdalena Reyes Bordeaux approved the transaction, saying a quick sale was necessary to “maximize the value” of the asset.
National CORE’s California portfolio consists of 87 residential properties, according to its website. Its properties include newly constructed residential complexes such as Las Dahlias, a 78-unit apartment complex in East Los Angeles, and Nestor Senior Village, a 73-unit property in San Diego.
In 2024, National CORE plans to complete construction of 544 apartments and begin construction of an additional 295 units. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
