New Crew Acquires Historic Queen Mary Cruise Ship

The Los Angeles County office of Old Republic Title Company closed the $43,000,000 sale of the historic Queen Mary cruise ship to a real estate development group known as Save the Queen, LLC. The Queen Mary is moored in Southern California's famous Long Beach Harbor and is owned by the City of Long Beach, along with certain contiguous properties totaling approximately 75 acres. The Queen Mary is subject to a long-term leasehold and had been under the jurisdiction of the United States Bankruptcy Court, pursuant to a Chapter 11 proceeding for more than a year. By virtue of the bankruptcy court's competitive bidding process and its court order, Save the Queen, LLC became the successful bidder. Thus, the course was set for The Queen Mary to "sail away" with its new owners when the escrow was closed by the very capable commercial team at Old Republic.

The nature of such a monumental transaction involved a complex set of circumstances, sophisticated financing and unexpected delays along the way. Not only did Old Republic perform the escrow and traditional title services, it also issued UCC policies as part of the closing. The recipe for success: a cooperative professional team effort by all involved, positive attitudes in the face of seemingly impossible demands, and several 36 hour days. The positive "we can do this" environment was the essential hallmark of this multi-tiered transaction closing within the strict mandates of the Bankruptcy Court.

Save the Queen, LLC will give The Queen Mary a $6 million face lift to bring her back to her former glory and begin a new chapter to the Los Angeles Old Republic Commercial Team for a job well done!

Queen Mary Lease is Almost Complete!

Save The Queen group is now closer to taking over the Queen mary. As the group that currently operates the Queen Mary, Queen's Seaport Development Inc, declared bankruptcy 2 years ago the Queen Mary is definitely need of new leadership to continue to make this a landmark property for the area.

After passing another hurdle in bankruptcy court by agreeing to a buyout of the group AAC's claim that it was owed $500,000 the Queen Mary property seems to be much closer to a new lease on life.

What do you want to see developed at the Queen Mary site?

Don't Miss the Long Beach Triathlon

OK we posted a reminder about this fantastic even a little while back but we wanted to make sure that everyone knows that tomorrow, Sunday, September 23rd 2007 is the Long Beach Triathlon. If you have registered you know that you should be picking up your packets today at the Queen Mary.

Now there may still be room to sign up by going to Pacific Sports LLC. So even if you can't get in this will be a fantastic event starting bright and early at 7:00 am for the very first race. This is a great event that raises money for aids education locally here in Long Beach.

The race will go by the beautiful Queen Mary and through Downtown Long Beach and Alamitos beach. Even if you don't get a chance to participate check out the event as there will be over 1,300 athletes of all levels competing. James and I will be there competing as well.

Queen Mary Sailing Again?

No, the Queen Mary is not actually sailing on open waters, but it has new life in it with a lease that has now been agreed upon. The investment group, named Save the Queen, has won the lease for the Queen Mary and the surrounding land. Although the sale is not final, the escrow is now open on this historic property at the price tag of $43 million. The Press Telegram provides a great run down of some of the details that are part of this offer and how the City of Long Beach will receive some of the payout should the sale close.

The Queen Mary is a truly remarkable entertainment area and landmark for the city so it would be great to see a greater use of the land to maximize the attraction. The Queen Mary recently took out a large billboard on the 405 which advertises the Queen Mary Experience which hosts some special events. In fact, just last night they had a UFC viewing party so they are constantly working on bringing new events to the area.

With all of the Downtown Long Beach high rise developments that face the Queen Mary and the restaurants at the Pike, we hope that they can continue some of the great tradition of this property. It's definitely a popular tourist destination and one can only hope that it gets even better!