Auction leaves parts of Ridpath with bank

A Spokane bank has inherited large pieces of the shuttered Ridpath Hotel in a move that some hope can begin to untangle ownership problems surrounding the downtown icon and lead to its possible restoration and reopening.

A public foreclosure auction Friday in the lobby of the Spokane County Courthouse failed to earn any bids above the opening prices of $875,000 and $125,000 for two upper floors, leaving the parcels as property of RiverBank.

Chuck Brooks, chief executive of RiverBank, said the bank would now attempt to find a buyer for the property.

RiverBank forced the auction by filing a foreclosure action against Gregory Jeffreys, a Spokane man who has left a trail of debts across Spokane County and who is now at the center of lawsuits and investigations over multiple projects.

Jeffreys still retains a small property interest in the hotel, which closed in 2008, and was sold off in pieces.

City officials have declared the hotel “substandard” and will not let it be occupied until the fire-suppression system is fixed.

Brooks declined to discuss RiverBank’s lending relationship with Jeffreys following the auction. Court records show RiverBank attempted to collect on development loans, as well as several other connections with him.

The lending relationship was among the problems that led federal banking regulators to demand RiverBank raise more capital.

RiverBank has entered into a consent order with regulators and recently secured about $5 million in capital from a new investor in exchange for what records show is a 22 percent stake in the bank.

Another of Jeffreys’ lenders, Washington Trust Bank, is currently trying to collect on a $1.3 million judgment against him.

The lawsuits and other allegations of fraud, conspiracy and theft against Jeffreys stand in stark contrast to a man who erected multiple limited liability companies, talked his way into bank loans worth millions and found willing individual investors from other states.

Attorneys, bankers and developers say they have not been able to find Jeffreys. He has skipped lawsuit depositions.

He doesn’t answer or return phone messages, although he still owns an upscale Spokane Valley home with an assessed value of $666,000.

At least one bank has seized some of his personal property, including a vintage motorcycle, along with medical equipment.

Meanwhile, other would-be developers are eyeing the Ridpath. One is Stephen Antonietti, who envisions turning the hotel into a resort.

He said he has several big-money backers from out of town, though he declined to provide names or details.

Antonietti called Friday’s auction a starting point for deal-making that might consolidate ownership in the Ridpath.

“That’s what everyone involved is hoping,” he said.