Dec. 02, 2011--The closed Atrium Suites hotel in Las Vegas may soon be sold -- but at a fraction of its value before the recession.

The 202-room nongaming property on 3.75 acres is on Paradise Road next to the Hard Rock hotel-casino.

Formerly called the Crowne Plaza, it closed for renovations in 2008 but never reopened after its lender, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., filed for bankruptcy that year.

In the fall of 2009, property owner A/P Hotel LLC sued Lehman Brothers to block a planned foreclosure of the property.

That suit said that after A/P borrowed $55.2 million to buy the hotel, Lehman refused to provide an additional $14.4 million to finance renovations.

Fast forward two years.

The A/P vs. Lehman Brothers lawsuit was settled under undisclosed terms this summer.

Then, a little-known company called LV Opportunity Fund LLC acquired the hotel under undisclosed terms in July.

Last month, a newly-filed lawsuit shows, Las Vegas hotel company The Siegel Group agreed to buy the Atrium for $4.2 million.

The Siegel Group says in the lawsuit, filed in Clark County District Court this week, that despite accepting the $4.2 million offer, LV Opportunity Fund LLC is now trying to back out of the deal, saying it plans to sell the property to another undisclosed party.

An official at LV Opportunity Fund named in the lawsuit, Kwan Young Kim, could not immediately be located for comment on the lawsuit.

The suit seeks an injunction blocking the sale to any party but The Siegel Group. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys with the Las Vegas law firm Marquis Aurbach Coffing.

Michael Crandall, director of business affairs at The Siegel Group, said Thursday that the proposed purchase was attractive because the Atrium is in a good area in close proximity to McCarran International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center and one of Siegel's existing hotels, Rumor on Harmon Avenue near Paradise Road.

"We're continuing to invest in Las Vegas," Crandall said.

Besides Rumor, The Siegel Group has other boutique properties Artisan, Gold Spike Hotel & Casino and the Resort on Mount Charleston; along with a group of extended-stay motels.

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