Eclat bids $6.675M; portfolio includes Forum, Pavilion, Scarborough Inn
OCEAN CITY – An Atlantic City investment firm that has multiple Ocean City hotel properties in its portfolio has topped Eustace Mita’s offer to purchase the former Crown Bank building at 801 Asbury Ave.
In November, Mita, a luxury hotel developer, put in a $6.5 million bid for the building and its parking lots on Central Avenue across from the Ocean City Police Department and Municipal Court.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey had set a hearing for Tuesday, Dec. 13, to weigh the offer on the properties, which have been in bankruptcy proceedings, but has now put off the hearing until Dec. 20.
Ocean City Crown Holdings LLC put forward a new purchase agreement, filed Monday, Dec. 12, for $6.675 million. Signing the offer for the liability company are Raj Khatiwala and Yogi Khatiwala with a contact address of 3001 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City. The two men are the principals and founders of Eclat Investments.
According to Eclat’s website, its portfolio includes The Forum at 800 Atlantic Ave., The Scarborough Inn at 720 Ocean Ave., The Pavilion at 801 Atlantic Ave., The Beach House at 819 Moorlyn Terrace, Stainton’s A Gallery of Shops at 810 Asbury Ave., Stainton’s Gallery by the Sea at 1216 Boardwalk, the Bluewater Inn at Eighth Street and Ocean Avenue and the Ocean Breeze Hotel at 724 Ocean Ave.
The city of Ocean City has also been interested in buying the building and lots and in the past few months has had professionals inspecting the building.
Khatiwala is the co-founder and managing partner of the real estate investment firm, Eclat Investments, based in New York and New Jersey, according to the company’s website.
It notes Khatiwala has 20 years of experience as a hospitality owner/operator “with a specialization in turning around and renovating non-performing and underperforming assets.”
His hotel portfolio consists of 11 assets throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Idea with a total value of $125 million – including assets in Ocean City, according to his profile.
“His hotels are of a mix of both national flag franchises and independent hotels,” the website states.
The other principal of the company is Yogi Khatiwala, who also serves as chief operating officer.
The company’s website includes views of Atlantic City and Ocean City and images of the Ocean City properties in its portfolio.
Attempts to contact the company principals before deadline were not successful.
“Eclat’s mission is to raise the standard of experience and excellence for the East Coast hospitality and retail industries. We aim to break through underrepresented markets through innovative development and modernizing infrastructure. Destination determined by experience, accessible to all communities,” the website states. “Eclat is driven by family values. It was founded with the belief that a corporate culture of loyalty, compassion, and dedication is essential to producing enduring investments and profitable business models. Clients, staff, and associates are considered family, and their interests and investments are represented to that highest standard.”
The website also notes its “dual division strategy.”
“Eclat focuses on innovation in two sectors. The first, the Investment Group, aims at closing on new investments based on value-added acquisitions, developments, and redevelopments. The second, the Management Services, aims to make premier hospitality properties that maximize their profit potential by increasing their efficiency and productivity.”
The city’s interest
In August, Mayor Jay Gillian’s administration announced it was interested in acquiring the building because of its prime location downtown.
After being contacted just before Thanksgiving and asked for comment about Mita’s Nov. 14 offer to buy the building, Ocean City public information officer Doug Bergen wrote, “The city is wrapping up its inspections and investigation with respect to the bank building and the associated parking lots in advance of making an offer to purchase, which would be its preferred method of acquiring these properties.”
However, at the first Ocean City Council meeting in December, when the administration was unveiling its five-year capital plan for projects, Gillian noted because the city was considering offering much less than the $6.5 million bid by Mita, the city might have to consider other options, but didn’t want to see the parking lots lost.
Bergen, responding to an email about the latest offer on the building, reiterated Monday that the city would wait to see the outcome of the hearing in bankruptcy court before deciding any future action.
Along with the building, the bids include five vacant parking lots at 412 E. Eighth St. and 800, 812, 816 and 820 Central Ave.
Also included in the bankruptcy proceedings is property at 174-176 Route 50 in Estell Manor.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
