Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Financial Trouble Among Competing Convention Centers Split in Texarkana

2 min read

The financial tale of Texarkana’s competing convention centers continues.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Wednesday approved the sale of Dr. Hiren D. Patel’s hotel in Texarkana, Texas, for $2.9 million to James J. Naples.

Patel and his wife, Dineschandra Patel, live in Texarkana, Texas, and own Country Inn & Suites through their company, Krishna Associates LLC.

The Patels’ attorney, Bill F. Payne of Dallas, did not return a call Thursday for comment. He has been instructed to file the order approving the sale by Jan. 25.

A draft of the order states that proceeds of the sale will be paid to MidSouth Bank of Lafayette, Louisiana, on the closing date. MidSouth is the lead creditor in the case.

Six other parties submitted bids by Nov. 25, according to the motion the court approved, and Naples’ was the high bid.

Krishna’s is one of three bankruptcies linked to the Patels, their companies and MidSouth.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November, when it listed $5.3 million in debts and $3.2 million in assets. The filing halted the foreclosure sale of Country Inn & Suites.

Patel also filed for bankruptcy reorganization in March for his Texarkana Hotels LLC, which owns the combination 27,000-SF, $18 million Arkansas Convention Center and Holiday Inn on the Arkansas side. The center and hotel have been marred by controversy since they opened in 2013, about a year after a convention center on the Texas side of the city.

That filing also halted a foreclosure, initiated by MidSouth. The bank said Patel’s company defaulted on $10 million in loans on the Arkansas side alone.

MidSouth is also seeking payment from the Patels because they personally guaranteed the debts, but that has been slowed because the Patels filed for personal bankruptcy reorganization in April.

Send this to a friend