Mayton Inn Now Up for Sale
Cary, NC – After its parent company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in late 2018, the Mayton Inn is now up sale, with the proceeds to be used to pay off the loans from the Town of Cary.
Memento Mori, LLC, which owns the Mayton Inn on Academy Street in Downtown Cary, filed for bankruptcy in Autumn 2018. The company made a Chapter 11 plan and while the Town of Cary’s bankruptcy attorney Charlie Livermon said it has not been approved by the Bankruptcy Court yet, it does lay out repayments for the town’s loan through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
“The Plan proposes to pay to the Town the regular monthly payments on the CDBG loan during the months of May – Oct 2019 and April – Oct 2020 or until a sale is completed, whichever occurs first,” Livermon said.
The Town of Cary loaned Memento Mori $1.4 million through the federal CDBG, which comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the loan paperwork, if the company defaults on that loan, “the Town must pledge its CDBG funds to repay the outstanding loan amount.”
If the Mayton Inn is sold before October 2020, then “the Town’s loans would be repaid from the sale proceeds of the Mayton Inn,” Livermon said.
Livermon said the Chapter 11 plan lays out how Memento Mori will repay the CDBG loan but he also said “the Plan does not propose to make any payments on the purchase money loan for the land,” which is $951,000, loaned by the Town of Cary directly.
Back in October 2018, addressing the Heart of Cary Association, Deanna Crossman, one of the Mayton Inn’s owners, said the hotel was profitable and could prove that in Bankruptcy Court.
At the same time Memento Mori filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the company put its other Triangle hotel, The King’s Daughters Inn, up for sale. The King’s Daughters Inn is in Durham.
While the sales process is going on, the Mayton Inn is remaining open and operational. The Mayton Inn is located at 301 S Academy St. in Downtown Cary.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos by Hal Goodtree.
I am a bankruptcy attorney who lives within walking distance of the Mayton Inn and grew up in Cary, so naturally I’ve been following the Inn’s bankruptcy case quite closely since it was filed. While the town intertwining itself in the affairs and fortunes of private businesses is obviously a legitimate complaint depending on one’s political philosophy and/or proximity to the fruits of the town’s largesse, I can say pretty definitively that the sale process that is being proposed in the bankruptcy case is both a common one and one that will receive an immense amount of court and administrative oversight to insure that any sale that occurs is one that will maximize the proceeds for everyone involved. And while it is entirely possible that some creditors will be harmed by the bankruptcy process, the Town of Cary is not likely to be one of them.
Thanks for your perspective Philip.
The Inn was impractical to begin with as there’s no major attraction for folks to spend almost 300.00 per night Here we go again and we the tax payers still owe a bunch of loan debt. Again special interest got there way and we pay. I predict the next will be the buses no one rides while Frantz’s Folly, the giant expensive parking garage, is being finished. Some one wanted to know why I ran for town council back in 15………….perhaps what’s happening will explain better than I can.
Ms. Burkland is 100% right. The Mayton is a testament to poor stewardship of our citizens’ tax money. I hope the new owners (whoever they turn out to be) will make it successful. Maybe those who love the Mayton can put together an investment group to achieve that. But no matter what, no taxpayer should again be forced to subsidize any private business. As Ms. Burkland points out, our taxes should be dedicated to proper public uses — a number of which she has helpfully listed.
What is the asking price? How does the asking price compare to the total investment of the movie theatre ? Since this hotel is directly next to the future park, maybe the town of Cary should buy the hotel.
It would be a disgraceful waste of our taxes if Cary threw good money after bad by buying this losing proposition. The Mayton’s owners were given, and have squandered, benefits that no other private business in downtown Cary has received. Those private business owners who have struggled to be profitable, not to mention the town’s other taxpayers, should not now be forced to further subsidize this boutique money pit. Sometimes I think Cary, NC is turning into River City, Iowa.
In this article, the owner stated that the Mayton Inn located in Cary was profitable and could be proven profitable in bankruptcy court.So your point of Cary making a bad decision is debatable. I’m not suggesting that the town of Cary go into the hotel business. I would like to know if the building could be repurposed and included into the planned downtown park?
I think they and the rest of the general population have differing opinions on the definition of “profitable”.
If they can’t service the debt load incurred by acquiring the property, then they aren’t really profitable. The hotel may be profitable purely from an operational standpoint (as in, it does in fact bring in more money than it costs to operate the hotel), but that’s like saying I make $1500 more a month than I need for my living expenses, as long as I don’t pay my rent.
This problem project was called out 5 years ago in the General Assembly. https://www.carolinajournal.com/news-article/watchdog-objects-to-hud-loan-for-boutique-cary-hotel/; I would like to see the Town of Cary use taxpayers money in a better way. This is not the first failed project in town using our tax dollars. We should take a look at improving infrastructure and planning for the future growth, addressing rising home costs which put poorer people out of housing and NOT giving people favoritism with taxpayer dollars. It’s okay to make mistakes, but we really should be more cautious. This project could have gone a different direction had people stepped back and provided good stewardship to the general public.
The town’s money is protected in the event of a sale, and the sale price for that property will certainly cover the $2.4M ($1.4M CBDG secured by Cary, and $950K in essentially “gifted” property).
The chances that they end up losing money here are slim to none.
I love this place but it has so much unused potential. People want to hang out in Cary and the bar and restaurant could offer so much more. Especially the outdoor area they have could be utilized better. I hope all goes well and we don’t lose this awesome hotel!
Agree with previous comments. The Mayton Inn and the Crossmans are local gems. Wishing them well.
Beautiful place, really sad. Wish the owners well. I bet it’s primarily a timing thing. They’ve been operating in the middle of a construction zone. This type hotel would fit well with the Hotel Indigo chain. They specialize in boutique type hotels.
Both of their hotels are beautiful and a delight to stay in.
And yes, the owners are very generous to local causes.
The Crossman family is owed a debt of gratitude for taking a big risk to build in Downtown Cary while we were still climbing out of the recession. I have seen them be very generous with donations to local causes.
I agree with Gabe. I love the Mayton Inn and hope the Crossman’s can continue to own and operate it, as they are indeed gems. The Mayton Inn adds a very positive appearance and ambiance to downtown Cary. The owners had to struggle for more than two years while trying to operate in the Academy St. construction project (and still have an adjacent construction zone to contend with) that went on much longer than anticipated. The Town of Cary did not waste their money on this project. It is a fabulous addition to Academy St. and needs continued local support. If each of us would commit to eat at least one meal a week there, and spend some weekend “staycations” in their stunning rooms, maybe we could help them to turn it around! Buy local!