Spicer Mansion owner confident he can avert a Jan. 29 foreclosure sale
Nov. 24—MYSTIC — Despite having agreed to the scheduling of a foreclosure sale of Spicer Mansion, the Groton hotel's owner said Tuesday he expects to clear all debts associated with the highly leveraged property prior to the proposed sale, which would make the sale unnecessary.
Brian Gates said he intends to keep operating the luxury, eight-room inn, and referred a reporter to an attorney for further comment.
In a filing late last week in New London Superior Court, Gates, his family members and other defendants in a 2-year-old foreclosure action brought by Chelsea Groton Bank agree there are "no defenses to Plaintiff's action" and that they're in default on a nearly $1.8 million mortgage the bank granted in 2015.
Gates secured the loan with second, third and fourth mortgages on his family's residence at 116 Cove Road in Stonington and on properties he owns in Plainfield and Putnam.
All of the properties are scheduled for foreclosure sale on dates next year, starting with the Spicer Mansion on Jan. 29, followed by the other properties on March 19, according to a joint motion filed with the court.
Gates' attorney, Richard Malafronte, said his client expects to secure enough financing to cover all debts associated with the foreclosure action as well as provide "working capital" to enable him to "operate his business, expand, do anything he needs to bring in more business."
"The gist of the matter is that we agreed to the (sale) date, expecting the financing to come through before that date," Malafronte said.
Brian Rich, the attorney for Chelsea Groton Bank, declined to comment.
In their joint motion, the parties agree that if the Spicer Mansion sale goes forward and the proceeds are sufficient to satisfy the debts of all creditors with an interest in the property, the sale of the other properties will be canceled.
The parties also have agreed to the valuations of the properties following appraisals. The Spicer Mansion, at 15 Elm St., Mystic, is valued at $3,670,00; the Gateses' home in Stonington at $1.2 million; a strip shopping center at 32-44 Norwich Road, Plainfield, at $300,000; a commercial building at 18 S. Main St., Putnam, at $205,000; and an unoccupied residence at 118 School St., Putnam, at $60,000.
The Gateses and their sons, Tomas and Eric, purchased Spicer Mansion, then operating as an apartment building, for $750,000 in 2013 and opened it as a hotel in 2016. Gates has said he has invested some $4 million in restoring and maintaining the property. Erected in 1853, it originally was the home of Captain Elihu Spicer, a Noank native who built the Mystic & Noank Library across the street.
In 2018, the town of Groton sued Gates, alleging Spicer Mansion was running a restaurant and a basement bar open to people who were not renting rooms at the hotel, in violation of zoning regulations. Subsequently, the town has levied $12,500 in fines.
Attempts to reach attorneys representing Gates and the town in the zoning matter were unsuccessful. A court hearing is scheduled next week.
When the Chelsea Groton Bank's foreclosure action was filed in 2019, Gates said the resolution of that suit as well as the one brought by the town were imminent.
