The Semiahmoo Resort at Blaine is closing the Semiahmoo Hotel on Dec. 1, putting more than 200 people out of work.
The Semiahmoo Resort at Blaine is closing the Semiahmoo Hotel on Dec. 1, putting more than 200 people out of work.
The company said the Semiahmoo and Loomis Trail golf clubs will remain open, but the hotel was unable to survive the collapse of the conference booking business that began in the recession. The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe is the majority owner of the hotel. The tribe is looking for a buyer.
Bellingham Herald/Associated Press
BLAINE - A spokesman for the Upper Skagit Tribe says there is still a good chance that the Semiahmoo Hotel can find a new owner and reopen in time for this summer, but one possible buyer has taken his firm out of the running.
Richard Warnick, president of Warnick + Co. of Phoenix, confirmed via email that his firm is no longer interested in making a deal for the hotel, which shut down Dec. 1, 2012. Warnick declined to offer further comment.
Harry Chesnin, attorney for the tribe, said the 200-room hotel has attracted a significant amount of interest from other potential buyers. The tribe is majority owner of Semiahmoo Co., which owns the hotel.
BLAINE - Employees at Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club and Loomis Trail Golf Club have been told their jobs are safe through May 30, as negotiations continue on a possible sale of the golf courses and the closed-down Semiahmoo Hotel.
Under the requirements of federal labor law, the 30 golf course employees got a 60-day notice in early March, telling them that a possible new owner had emerged for the troubled hotel and golf courses. Their jobs with the resort company could end under a new owner, although the new owner would have the option to hire them.
The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe owns a majority share of the hotel and golf courses. Harry Chesnin, spokesman for the tribe, said that notice is being extended through May 30 as talks continue with a possible buyer.
BLAINE - After nearly falling victim to the real estate bubble bust, a residential waterfront project is ready for buyers.
On Saturday, May 18, officials at the Marin condominiums will host a grand opening sale for residential units in Building B, which was recently completed.
The 18-unit building was only about half finished when the property was foreclosed on by Seattle Bank about three years ago. In June 2012, Florida-based Patten Real Estate bought the property, which included a nearly finished Building A, for $7 million. Building A was finished last August.
A sale is pending, once again, for the Semiahmoo Hotel and two nearby golf courses.
BLAINE - Gary Tomsic will retire as Blaine city manager at the end of June - leaving the post he will have held for 13 years for new adventures that include more visits with his children and grandchildren and a 500-mile walking pilgrimage in Spain.
"We'd like to go into a new phase of our life and see if we can do some of the things that we've not had time to do over the years," the 65-year-old Tomsic said of retirement plans with wife, Renate.
The City Council will interview two firms Monday, Jan. 28, and pick one to search for city manager candidates.
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