Nashua's Radisson Collapse: A Candidate's Failed $24 Million Hotel Bet

The former Radisson Hotel in Nashua closed in January 2011 owing $17 million on a $20 million mortgage against a property assessed at just $11 million. Anthony DiLorenzo, now a Republican candidate for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, held a 50-50 stake in the venture. The shutdown laid off 125 employees, forced guests from their rooms and left vendors suing for payment.

The numbers frame a story about leverage, refinancing risk and a lender that held every card. They also frame a political argument seven weeks before a contested election.

What happened at the hotel?

Southern New Hampshire Hospitality, the ownership entity, bought the 330-room, seven-story property in 2007 for $17 million. It had operated since 1979 as the Sheraton Tara. Kevin Bowden, a hotel owner in southern New Hampshire and Maine, brought the deal to DiLorenzo and proposed reflagging the aging property under the Radisson brand.

DiLorenzo, whose wealth came from Key Auto Group, a chain of car dealerships he founded, contributed an additional $7 million of his own money, according to Martin Pomeroy, a Boston lawyer authorized to speak for him. The purchase price plus that equity puts his exposure to the deal's upside near $24 million in committed capital.

The owners stopped making payments 13 months before the closure. CW Capital, a Quebec financing firm holding the $20 million mortgage, watched the debt grow as the 2008 real estate recession collapsed hospitality values across the region.

How did the lender take control?

The financing was structured as short-term debt intended for refinancing into a long-term, market-rate loan. The financial crisis killed that exit. Pomeroy said the loan was non-recourse, and the lender insisted on a proxy agreement granting it the right to seize the asset at any point. "I negotiated on Anthony's behalf, but the lender had all the cards," Pomeroy said.

A court receiver appointed Crescent Hotels & Resorts in February 2011 to run the hotel while DiLorenzo's company and CW Capital fought in court. Bowden, whose own Holiday Inn Express and other regional properties were struggling, had by then left for Florida.

"At that point, Anthony had to step in with no hotel experience and did all he could to salvage this thing," Pomeroy said.

DiLorenzo worked for months toward a debt restructuring that never came.

Who was left unpaid?

The creditor trail is specific:

• Twelve vendors were owed $36,440 six weeks after the owners lost the property.
• Seven creditors took the hotel to court; five won judgments by default.
• The IRS and the state of New Hampshire recorded seven liens totaling $231,754, two naming DiLorenzo personally.
• The drywall contractor Gyptech chased nearly $5,000 on a $69,000 job for three years.

Pomeroy said DiLorenzo was powerless to pay. "What was available wasn't even enough to pay the lender," he said. "Vendors and some contractors unfortunately weren't going to get paid. The lender refused to do that."

That claim deserves scrutiny. Published reports at the time identified DiLorenzo as the property's sole owner, and vendors named him in their suits. Pomeroy's account rests on an operations agreement that made Bowden, through his hospitality management group, the exclusive operator with sole authority over daily decisions.

How did it end?

Manchester auctioneer James St. Jean opened bidding at $10 million in November 2011. No offers came until the price dropped to $1 million. The hotel sold for $5.5 million to Attilio Petrocelli, president and CEO of United Capital in New York, who also paid $250,000 in back sewer and water taxes owed to Nashua.

The property later returned to Marriott as the Sheraton Nashua and now thrives after a $140 million expansion by Delaware North, becoming the Gate City Casino Hotel.

What does the candidate say?

DiLorenzo calls the scrutiny politically motivated. "A failed investment due to a global financial crisis is not proof of misconduct," he said in a statement. He now lists president or manager roles at more than 40 ventures, owns Planet Fitness franchises and won the bid to redevelop the McIntyre building in downtown Portsmouth. His opponent, Democrat Stefany Shaheen, runs attack ads noting his island estate in Portsmouth assessed above $12.5 million.

Both partners rebounded. Bowden's Florida group now holds five luxury resorts and is developing a six-story hotel in St. Pete Beach. The question for voters is whether a leveraged collapse that stranded workers and vendors predicts governance, or simply dates a cycle. The record alone does not answer it.