GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The former developer of Green Bay’s Hotel Northland opens up to WTAQ’s Jerry Bader Friday, about the controversial redevelopment project downtown and what went wrong.
Mike Frantz, of Frantz Community Investors, says plans for the historic building started to go off the rails when he and current Northland owner, Keith Harenda, began having disagreements.
“You know the reasons for the default and subsequently, the lack of the cure of the default and the withdrawal of the senior lender, were really the major issues that the Harenda group and I had.”
Frantz says according to the bank, the construction contract for the $44 million project didn’t align with the appraisal, which lead to the default of the senior lender of the historic project.
“It was the lower level of the hotel that was not in the construction contract and that lower level did, in fact, generate some significant revenue which is what the appraiser used capitalize the evaluation of the property,” said Frantz.
Wanting to stick with the facts, the former Hotel Northland developer says according to court documents, there were four reasons the senior lender pulled out of the deal.
“Two of them was because of the circumvention of disbursement agreement, one had to do with the management company, and one had to do with a bank account,” Frantz said.
Frantz goes on to explain a text message he sent Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt, telling him he was “working with the wrong guys,” referring to now Hotel Northland owner, Keith Harenda.
“What I worded strongly there with the mayor, was my disagreement with Keith and his group about the way the senior lender was treated and subsequently pulled out of the deal.
After confusion on who the owner of the property was, a judge ruled on April 14 that Keith Harenda was the sole owner of the hotel.
Officials hope the Hotel Northland will be open for business by this fall.
Frantz says his company is now currently working on a redevelopment project along the river in Wausau called “Riverlife.”
The 17 acres project includes new apartments and commercial mixed-use buildings.
