A Hitch In Nile Niami’s Latest Gambit

Spec developer Nile Niami has canceled a tour of The One megamansion for would-be investors and the media, the latest turn in a roller-coaster ride through bankruptcy and last ditch effort to stop an auction sale.

The walkthrough was organized in hopes of enticing would-be investors to fund a last-ditch bid to halt the recent $126 million sale of the project out of bankruptcy. An organizer of the tour, who asked not be named, said that no reason had been given for the cancellation.

Representatives of Niami has previously announced the tour of the Bel Air megamansion was set for today at 5 p.m.

The developer at one point put a $500 million price tag on the 3.8-acre hilltop spread, which features amenities that include a 64-foot indoor pool, night club, 10,000-square-foot sky deck and wellness center, among others.

The goal of the tour, according to a representative of Niami, is to raise $250 million in minimum increments of $100,000. Niami is offering a return of 50 percent to investors, with a plan to hold events at the property part of the pitch. Commitments are due at 2 p.m. today, and “all qualified investors” and members of the press” have been invited to the tour three hours after the deadline.

The 11th-hour attempt to retain control of The One follows several others by Niami, including one that would have issued cryptocurrency backed by the project.

The latest scheme comes amid various claims by debtors and other interested parties that the recent auction won by fashion mogul Richard Saghian came in too low and should have been delayed due to the war in Ukraine and its effects on the global pool of billionaires likely to pursue such properties.
The next stop for the case appears to be a March 18 hearing, where a bankruptcy judge is expected to sort through various claims and consider Saghian’s request to have the sale declared final.