A mansion on Red Mountain that went unsold at an auction in December is scheduled to go to a foreclosure sale after a judge recently issued a ruling in favor of Alpine Bank, which claimed in court filings that it was due more than $18 million on an overdue loan note.
Located on Hunter Creek Road in the Red Mountain Ranch subdivision, the property was used as collateral for an $18.5 million loan that businessman Daniel Burrell received from the bank in November 2021, according to filings made by Aspen law firm Garfield & Hecht PC on behalf of Alpine Bank.
Alpine Bank said Burrell owed nearly $18.1 million in outstanding principal on the note, based on documents entered in January in the Pitkin County Treasurer’s Office and in March in Pitkin County District Court. An April 24 written order from Judge Anne Norrdin said there is “a reasonable probability that a default justifying the foreclosure sale occurred as alleged” in the bank’s foreclosure suit.
The amount due Alpine Bank is just over one-half of the actual value the Pitkin County Assessor’s Office most recently placed on the property: $35.8 million.
The sale is scheduled for May 29. Burrell, however, indicated in an April 1 filing made with the treasurer’s office — prior to the judge’s ruling — that he was agreeable to spread out monthly payments totaling nearly $1.4 million to get in the bank’s good graces and retain the mansion.
Burrell is the founder of Dallas-based The Burrell Group LLC, an investment and holding company that “focuses on medication education, behavioral sciences, financial services, commercial and residential real estate, construction, aviation, food service programs in partnership with public and private universities, security and life safety systems, as well as medical technology and natural resources,” the company’s website says.
Burrell acknowledged a message seeking comment Wednesday but was unavailable to speak. His lawyer, Sarah Auchterlonie of the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, could not be immediately reached.
A December auction conducted by Concierge Auctions resulted in a buyer for Burrell’s Three Meadows Ranch but not his Red Mountain home. Three Meadows remains under contract to buy, according to broker Garrett Reuss of Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty.
Meanwhile, Alpine Bank’s foreclosure lawsuit is one of four levied by financial institutions against Burrell in the state court system.
First Western Trust Bank in a November complaint said Burrell and multiple LLCs and corporations he controls owe more than $50 million in business and construction loans. As collateral, Burrell put up the Red Mountain home as well as his Three Meadows Ranch in the Basalt area, along with two homes in the Willits subdivision.
Burrell, in a counter filing, said the loans actually were used to pay off a divorce settlement, buy new cars and a yacht, among other possessions, and that the bank also disclosed Burrell’s financial information during earnings calls.
The case is active, but an April 3 filing by Burrell’s lawyer said there have been “discussions regarding a potential resolution of this case.”
In another civil case, Pitkin County District Judge Chris Seldin on April 16 ruled in favor of U.S. Bank on summary judgment against Burrell and an LLC called Burrell Diversified Investments. Seldin’s ruling found that Burrell and his company were liable to U.S. Bank for $3.8 million over a breached loan agreement, according to court records.
The fourth suit involving a financial institution was filed by Bank of America against Burrell and Burrell Diversified Investments in Denver County District Court on April 11. The suit concerns a $4 million loan agreement Burrell allegedly breached.
By: Rick Carroll I Aspen Daily News I May 2, 2024
