Dec. 1, 2004 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Ramada Inn KCI, an 11-story, 249-unit hotel near Kansas City International Airport, filed Tuesday for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to stave off foreclosure.

The hotel closed its doors about a month ago after its mortgage lender, Point Center Financial Inc. of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., moved for the appointment of a receiver. The hotel's owner, KC Hotel LLC, owes Point Center more than $2 million.

The hotel's bankruptcy attorney, Neil Sader, said KC Hotel was obtaining refinancing and expected to reopen the inn soon.

"The idea of the bankruptcy was to get them the three or four weeks they need," he said. "They're very confident. They've got an out-of-town financier with whom they're finishing up the paperwork. Once that comes through, they can be reopened within 60 days."

The hotel, at the southwest corner of Interstate 29 and Northwest Tiffany Springs Road, was built in 1973 for about $5 million by Barron Development Co., a company formed by two Trans World Airlines pilots and a National Airlines pilot. The property has 244 rooms, five suites and six meeting rooms.

KC Hotel acquired the property earlier this year. The limited liability corporation's managing member is KC Management Corp., which is based in California.

"The property obviously is in need of renovation," Sader said. "The client's goal was to purchase the hotel, remodel it, get a new flag and then operate it or resell it."

The emergency bankruptcy petition did not list the hotel's assets or liabilities.

This is at least the second time the hotel has faced foreclosure. In 1975, not long after it was built, the hotel defaulted on a $4 million promissory note and was taken over by the note holder, State Mutual Investors of Worcester, Mass.

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