Spokane’s Montvale Hotel faces bankruptcy

Mounting bills and economic malaise has forced downtown Spokane developer Rob Brewster to file for bankruptcy protection on his Montvale Hotel.

The multimillion-dollar bankruptcy reorganization is the latest setback for Brewster, a young and ambitious entrepreneur who bought and refurbished several downtown buildings as part of the past decade’s downtown resurgence before losing ownership when the economy soured.

The hotel on the corner of First Avenue and Monroe Street remains open, as do the restaurants inside the Montvale building’s main floor.

The bankruptcy is a Chapter 11 reorganization attempt.

Brewster claimed in court records that his Montvale Hotel …

Mounting bills and economic malaise has forced downtown Spokane developer Rob Brewster to file for bankruptcy protection on his Montvale Hotel.

The multimillion-dollar bankruptcy reorganization is the latest setback for Brewster, a young and ambitious entrepreneur who bought and refurbished several downtown buildings as part of the past decade’s downtown resurgence before losing ownership when the economy soured.

The hotel on the corner of First Avenue and Monroe Street remains open, as do the restaurants inside the Montvale building’s main floor.

The bankruptcy is a Chapter 11 reorganization attempt.

Brewster claimed in court records that his Montvale Hotel LLC retains value as an operating business, according to his attorney, John Munding.

Brewster didn’t return messages seeking comment Thursday.

For the hotel to emerge from bankruptcy, Brewster will have to contend with creditors; the bankruptcy filing says the Montvale has business debts and obligations of more than $1 million.

Assets also exceed $1 million.

The falling fortunes of Brewster include a host of financial judgments against him in state court in the past five years. Among them are a $2 million judgment in San Juan County, a $1.7 million judgment in King County and a $917,000 case in Spokane County.

Brewster is best known for his downtown projects that included the Holley-Mason Building, the Hutton Building and the Montvale.

Spokane Teachers Credit Union announced plans this month to move its commercial lending offices into the Hutton, which it acquired through a foreclosure action against Brewster’s bankrupt Selkirk Trading Co.

Last summer Brewster lost the Holley-Mason Building to Prudential Financial.