Relevant Group is in default on a loan tied to its planned redevelopment of the Morrison Hotel, the beloved hotel named after The Doors’ frontman Jim Morrison. The band featured the hotel on an album cover in 1969, which prompted the name change.
The developer owed $13.2 million under the loan as of June 21, an amount that will increase until the loan becomes current, according to a notice of default filed with L.A. County over the summer.
The firm is still working on a loan extension, “like everyone else,” Relevant principal Grant King said in an email.
“We hope to have it completed shortly,” he added.
Relevant has been working on redevelopment plans for the hotel for the last six years, assembling several parcels for upwards of $40 million. Last year, the company said it planned to build a 444-room hotel with 136 residential units on the site, located at 1246 South Hope Street.
Columbia Pacific Advisors gave Relevant a $12.65 million loan for the project in 2021, records show.
The same year, Relevant also scored a loan from Lone Oak Fund, a Brentwood-based bridge lender, though terms of the loan were not disclosed.
Under California law, a foreclosure can be scheduled no earlier than 90 days after the initial notice of default is filed. In Relevant’s case, a foreclosure on the hotel site can be scheduled for Oct. 9.
Relevant has been seeking additional equity in the Morrison project since last year. In July 2022, the firm put a 50 percent stake in the building up for sale.
The firm has had its share of financial blows over the past year. In February, Relevant lost two of its Hollywood hotels, part of its core portfolio, to foreclosure. The firm is also trying to raise money from EB-5 investors for 1200 Olive, a 400-unit, ground-up apartment complex, and is seeking a partner for its Schrader hotel project in Hollywood.