W Boston Hotel and Residences Facing Foreclosure

Another hotel is in trouble. The developer behind the 28-story W Boston Hotel and Residences in downtown Boston has filed for bankruptcy protection. The Boston Globe reports that documents filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Boston by SW Boston Hotel Venture LLC, a subsidiary of Sawyer Enterprises, show liabilities of $100 million to $500 million. The City of Boston itself gave the developer a $10.5 million loan a few months back to help it finish building the $234 million project. The complex opened in October, not exactly a perfect time in the struggling condo real estate market. Only around 10 percent of the building's 122 condominiums have been sold. The Globe reports that W units have sold for as much as $1.9 million for a three-bedroom and $345,000 for a studio.

The W Hotel has 235 hotel rooms on its first 15 floors with rooms that cost more than $300 a night. Hote occupancy rates are still down in Boston because of diminshed tourism. As is usually the case in these situations, the hotel operations are not affected by the filing.