CATSKILL -- A developer from Asia has bought the former Friar Tuck Inn, which had been seized by its bank more than a year ago.
Win Morrison, the principal broker with Win Morrison Realty in Kingston, said a company called L and H Resort Systems LP bought the Friar Tuck for $2.4 million. He said L and H Resort Systems is an Asia-based development group that has big plans for the resort.
"It will be the best thing that's happened to Greene and Ulster counties in a long, long time," Morrison said.
There are no plans to build a casino on the site, but he said it would be made into a "resort and entertainment center."
The Friar Tuck was opened in the early 1970s by New York City restaurant owner Salvatore "Rick" Caridi, who died last year as the hotel and resort was going through a painful bankruptcy proceeding.
Ulster Savings Bank, which held a $3.5 million mortgage on the property, seized the resort and closed it in April 2010 as it sought a buyer.
Although it had become run down in recent years, the Friar Tuck was once a popular Catskills destination that hosted medium-sized conventions for groups such as The Sons of Italy with its dining room that accommodated 2,000 people. It also hosted well-known musical acts and boxing matches and was the first hotel to get off-track betting in 1990.
Morrison did not have additional information about L and H Resort Systems and its plans for the Friar Tuck. It's unclear if there is any connection with a Thai banking and real estate conglomerate called Land and Houses.
Warren Hart, director of economic development in Greene County, said he is award of the purchase but knows little about the new owners. He said the best-case scenario would be the creation of a flagship resort primed with new capital; under the previous ownership, investment had stopped.
"The key here is that the company that bought it has to invest in it," Hart said.
Michael Shaughnessy, interim president and chief executive officer of Ulster Savings Bank, says L and H Resort Systems asked the bank for anonymity as a condition of the sale. He said he is only allowed to confirm that the for-profit company paid cash and that no other credit was provided in the deal.
The resort was sold for substantially less than the $4.5 million bid made by an Oklahoma City businessman during an auction of the property in the fall of 2009. That bid was later thrown out when the money didn't materialized.
Reach Larry Rulison at 454-5504 or at lrulison@timesunion.com.
Win Morrison, the principal broker with Win Morrison Realty in Kingston, said a company called L and H Resort Systems LP bought the Friar Tuck for $2.4 million. He said L and H Resort Systems is an Asia-based development group that has big plans for the resort.
"It will be the best thing that's happened to Greene and Ulster counties in a long, long time," Morrison said.
There are no plans to build a casino on the site, but he said it would be made into a "resort and entertainment center."
The Friar Tuck was opened in the early 1970s by New York City restaurant owner Salvatore "Rick" Caridi, who died last year as the hotel and resort was going through a painful bankruptcy proceeding.
Ulster Savings Bank, which held a $3.5 million mortgage on the property, seized the resort and closed it in April 2010 as it sought a buyer.
Although it had become run down in recent years, the Friar Tuck was once a popular Catskills destination that hosted medium-sized conventions for groups such as The Sons of Italy with its dining room that accommodated 2,000 people. It also hosted well-known musical acts and boxing matches and was the first hotel to get off-track betting in 1990.
Morrison did not have additional information about L and H Resort Systems and its plans for the Friar Tuck. It's unclear if there is any connection with a Thai banking and real estate conglomerate called Land and Houses.
Warren Hart, director of economic development in Greene County, said he is award of the purchase but knows little about the new owners. He said the best-case scenario would be the creation of a flagship resort primed with new capital; under the previous ownership, investment had stopped.
"The key here is that the company that bought it has to invest in it," Hart said.
Michael Shaughnessy, interim president and chief executive officer of Ulster Savings Bank, says L and H Resort Systems asked the bank for anonymity as a condition of the sale. He said he is only allowed to confirm that the for-profit company paid cash and that no other credit was provided in the deal.
The resort was sold for substantially less than the $4.5 million bid made by an Oklahoma City businessman during an auction of the property in the fall of 2009. That bid was later thrown out when the money didn't materialized.
Reach Larry Rulison at 454-5504 or at lrulison@timesunion.com.
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