March 7, 2019 • Local News
Last major piece of William Abraham's long-held Downtown portfolio sells for $1.3 million
Last major piece of William Abraham's long-held Downtown portfolio sells for $1.3 million
The sale is now final for the 108-year-old Toltec Club Building, the last major piece of what had been El Paso businessman William "Billy" Abraham's extensive, longtime hold on Downtown's architectural gems.
A company headed by Greg Malooly, an El Paso real estate investor and Abraham's cousin, finalized its purchase of the building for $1.3 million Feb. 27, according to documents filed with the federal bankruptcy court in El Paso.
Malooly was the successful bidder for the building at a November auction in bankruptcy court at which 11 Abraham properties, including nine Downtown buildings, were sold.
The Toltec building was the last of the nine Downtown building sales to become final.
They sold for a total of $8.25 million.
Malooly's company also is buying two other properties, one of which was sold at a separate bankruptcy court auction in February.
Bankruptcy auctions end Abraham's hold on Downtown buildings
Abraham for years held onto his large portfolio of Downtown buildings, several of them historic and architectural gems, and allowed the mostly vacant buildings to deteriorate into eyesores. Other Downtown property owners and developers said Abraham's hold on the buildings had slowed Downtown redevelopment.
Abraham in February 2018 filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases for himself and Franklin Acquisitions, his real estate holding company.
Some of the sale proceeds will pay for unpaid property taxes, mortgage loans and other expenses for Abraham's properties. Remaining money will go toward paying off some of Abraham's estimated $10 million in debts.
The Toltec building, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, is located at 717 E. San Antonio, near the federal and county courthouses in the heart of what's been designated as Downtown's government district.
The building, with renaissance-style architecture, housed the Toltec Club, which opened in 1910. It was a men's social club for El Paso's prominent business, civic and political leaders. It was the location of gala events near the turn of the 20th century that included U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt and Mexican Presidents Francisco I. Madero and Porfirio Diaz, according to information on the El Paso History Alliance Facebook page.
Malooly has told the El Paso Times that he wants to fill up the four-story building with law offices because of its location near the courthouses. Most of the four-story building is vacant. Some of the ground-floor retail spaces have tenants.
Malooly was not available Tuesday to provide an update on his plans for the building.
Toltec building, Abraham haunted by elevator troubles
One stumbling block to completing the Toltec building sale was getting Abraham and others to remove items left in the building. Abraham had argued in court that the building's broken elevator made it difficult to remove the items.
The chronically malfunctioning elevator also is the reason that Abraham was arrested in late August and charged with witness and evidence tampering charges.
Those charges stem from a state elevator licensing hearing in 2017 tied to the Toltec building elevator. A trial on those charges is set to begin June 21 in a state district court in El Paso, according to the court schedule.
Abraham said in a statement, issued after he was released on bail last August, that he will be "exonerated of all allegations" tied to the tampering charges.
Items in the building to be removed, include an electric grand piano, old liquor bottles, more than 50 boxes of papers, paintings, and office furniture in Abraham's third-floor office, according to a court document.
The office of Abraham's late father, prominent El Paso criminal defense lawyer Joseph "Sib" Abraham, also had been located in the building.
"The Toltec elevators are not yet working. There were about 20 items, from tables to filing cabinets to air conditioning units that had to remain," reported Stephen Sather, an Austin lawyer representing the Chapter 11 trustee, who is overseeing Abraham's two bankruptcy cases.
Walgreens building, other Abraham properties, also sold
Malooly's company also was the successful bidder in a February bankruptcy court auction for the former Walgreens store at 200 N. Mesa St., in Downtown. It was sold for $405,000. The closing of the sale will be scheduled later.
Malooly also finalized the sale in January of the Press Bar building at 410½ San Antonio Ave., also sold at the Nov. 6 auction, for $295,000.
Here's the status of other Abraham properties:
- The sale of three acres of vacant land on the 1600 block of Joe Battle Boulevard, was finalized Feb. 26, to Robert Malooly, a relative of Greg Malooly, in lieu of a loan Robert Malooly held on the property for $757,400, according to a court document.
- El Paso businessman Don Luciano was the successful bidder in a February court auction for commercial properties at 3100 and 3108 E. Gateway Blvd., in Central El Paso, which he is buying for $187,000. The sale closing will be held later.
- A hearing is scheduled for April 11 in federal bankruptcy court for the sale of the so-called McGrath Realty Building at 416 E. San Antonio to El Paso lawyer Sam Legate for $350,000. The bankruptcy court judge usually uses that amount as the starting price for an auction of the property that would be held April 11.
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