February 3, 2010 --The luxurious Mansion on Peachtree was sold in foreclosure auction on Tuesday less than two years after it opened in the heart of Buckhead, the Atlanta Business Chronicle has reported.

To date, it marks the highest-profile foreclosure in the wake of the economic crisis that has helped grind other residential and commercial developments to a halt.

The building sold for $66.1 million --a 65 percent drop from the estimated $197.4 million in total loans for the project, the Business Chronicle said. It went to iStar Financial, an affiliate of the building's lead lender.

City Centre Properties and Mansion Centre Properties were behind the luxury condo-hotel project, which opened on May 1, 2008.

The 42-story building is a combination of 45 residences and 127 rooms --operated by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. It was designed by Robert A.M. Stern, is on Peachtree Road and is near the Buckhead MARTA station and Lenox Square.

High-profile investors included Atlanta developer John Williams and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the Business Chronicle said.

The condos were being sold for an average of $1,000 per square foot. Hotel rooms had a nightly rate of $400.

The 127-room hotel was catering to travelers with personalized butler service, twice-a-day housekeeping and luxury accommodations.

Mansion Centre was one of several ultra-luxury condo-hotel projects under construction in the city. The original loan with iStar was for $147 million, according to the Business Chronicle, using figures supplied by real estate research firm Databank Inc.

Mansion Centre Properties then took out a mezzanine loan from Georgia Bank --the second biggest in metro Atlanta. Regulators shut down the bank last September and sold its assets to First Citizens Bank and Trust of Columbia, S.C.

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