BERKELEY — The owner of University Inn & Suites in Berkeley struck a deal to sell the bankrupt hotel, an effort that could ward off a foreclosure proceeding.
At 920 University Ave., the 113-room hotel defaulted in February 2025 on a $10.3 million loan owner Kubera Hotel Properties obtained in 2019 from Wilmington Trust.
The proposed purchase price is $14.5 million, documents on file with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court show. That would equate to $128,300 a room, which is on the low side for hotel values in the region.
Junjian Lushan Lu, who is connected to an address in Sonoma County that is shared by a hotel, is listed in bankruptcy court papers as the buyer.
Problems with the hotel began soon after it obtained the loan, before the 2020 pandemic led to wide-ranging shutdowns in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
“Kubera Hotel Properties had difficulties due to COVID and was unable to continue to make payments to keep its banner with LaQuinta Inn,” the hotel’s owner stated in a filing with the bankruptcy court.
This isn’t the first time that Kubera thought it had found a buyer for the troubled hotel. A deal was in the works during 2025, but before the end of the year, the potential transaction had evaporated.
The potential buyer is working to clear away all contingencies to complete the sale, court papers show.
“The debtor (Kubera) will file a motion to sell the hotel free and clear as soon as possible,” Kubera Hotel Properties stated in bankruptcy papers.