Judge appoints receiver for Ukiah’s Palace Hotel

UKIAH, CA., 1/9/2017 — At a hearing at the Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah on January 9, Judge Leslie Nichols granted the City of Ukiah’s application to appoint Mark Adams as the receiver to take over the management of the Palace Hotel, centrally located at 272 North State Street in Ukiah. Resolution of the matter was one of three “big ticket items” mentioned by incoming Mayor Jim Brown when he was asked about his resolutions for 2017. The unused hotel is considered a landmark, and its future has been the object of much speculation and opinionating for decades.

The Ukiah City Council declared the 16,000 square foot building a public nuisance in 2011, and attempts to bring the building up to code through mediation with Eladia Laines, of Unique Properties in Sausalito, have been unsuccessful. The court documents list Laines and “Questex, Ltd. a revoked Nevada Corporation,” among the respondents to the city’s petition. The order refers to Questex as the owner of the property. Laines was present at the hearing and expressed dismay at the outcome, murmuring, “This is ridiculous.” Last year, Nichols declined to grant the city’s petition to appoint a receiver, suggesting instead that Laines and the city of Ukiah resolve the issue through mediation.