Portions of The Greenbrier Hotel are slated for public auction, according to a legal advertisement placed in Lewisburg’s West Virginia Daily News on Thursday. (Chris Jackson | West Virginia Watch)
For the second time in as many months, portions of The Greenbrier Hotel are slated for public auction, according to a legal advertisement placed in Lewisburg’s West Virginia Daily News on Thursday that was first reported by MetroNews.
According to a statement from Steve Ruby, attorney for The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, the announcement of the auction — which is set for 2 p.m. on Oct. 25 on the Greenbrier County Courthouse steps — is “merely a procedural matter.”
“As The Greenbrier previously announced, its agreement with Beltway Capital provides for a final payment to be made by October 24, 2024. The Greenbrier remains on track to make that payment,” Ruby wrote in the statement. “Today’s advertisement is merely a procedural matter. It in no way reflects any change in the parties’ relationship or The Greenbrier’s plans regarding payment.”
The payment that is scheduled to be made is the product of a deal that was cut in August between Beltway Capital, which is associated with credit collection company McCormick 101 who bought the loan documents and deed of trust for the hotel from JPMorgan earlier this year, and Gov. Jim Justice’s family, which owns the Greenbrier.
The Justices, according to previous statements, defaulted on at least $9.4 million in loans from the bank that were used to purchase the Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009.
That deal averted the first public auction that was announced for portions of the resort in a separate legal advertisement on August 1. On August 22, it was announced that auction would not happen and that the Justice family would make payment to Beltway of an unspecified amount on Oct. 24 to avoid foreclosure.
There have still been no details shared about how much the governor’s family is slated to pay to keep the hotel. In statements at the time, Justice said the payment would come directly from the family and that the undisclosed amount of money had already been procured.
“When it’s all said and done, what we’ve done is we’ve acquired these funds,” Justice told reporters on a news briefing then. “It’s going to cost our family a bunch of money.”
Under the new announcement, if the payment is made on Oct. 24, it’s unlikely that the portions of the resort listed for public auction would actually go up for sale. The portions in question include 60.5 acres of the resort, mostly made of the hotel and its parking lots. Other pieces of land on the property — golf courses, tennis courts and more — are owned by other Greenbrier-affiliated companies under the governor’s family and are not facing foreclosure.
If payment is not made, however, the property could be sold to the highest bidder with cash-on-hand on Oct. 25. That sale would come just over a week out from the general election, where Justice is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va. Justice is a heavy favorite to win that election against his Democratic opponent, Glenn Elliott, the former mayor of Wheeling.
The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Greenbrier has been frustrating for those who live in the surrounding communities and rely on the resort, which employs between 1,500 and 2,000 people in the region.
Kara Dense, president and CEO of the Greenbrier County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in August that the Greenbrier was a “major part” of the county’s tourism success, especially throughout the pandemic. According to the state’s annual tourism impact study, tourists spent about $382 million in Greenbrier County in 2022, the fifth highest of any West Virginia county.
Residents and business owners there have been clear that they want to see responsible owners in charge of the hotel, no matter who that may be, and the ongoing questions on whether or not the Justice family is capable of caring for it financially are dispiriting given what is at risk.
“This county and this state needs The Greenbrier, and needs The Greenbrier to be in tiptop operating shape …” Cathy Rennard, president and CEO of Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall, told West Virginia Watch in August. “I’m hopeful that we’re going to be able to circle back around to that in one way or another, whether another hotelier comes in and ends up with it, that’d be great. If the Justice family can get through this hard spot and come out on the other side and reinvest in the property and all that, that’s great, too. We just need good, solid ownership.”
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