After three Eau Claire sheriff foreclosure sales, the building formerly known as the Ramada Inn was bought once again on Tuesday.

Dougherty Funding, a Minneapolis-based company, placed the auction’s only bid of $1.45 million for sole ownership of the downtown establishment.

The building was previously being run by an interim company, S&L Hospitality of Verona, but they ultimately closed Nov. 23 after a judge granted them the option due to continued money loss.

Dougherty Funding was the company that originally lent the building’s previous owners, Singh Brothers Hotel Management, money to keep business running. But once they were unable to repay the loan, the building was foreclosed upon.

Eau Claire’s Economic Development Administrator Mike Schatz said he thinks the company bought the building with hopes of having complete control since they already invested money into it. While he said he is unsure of what will come of the troubled building, he believes the company will probably sell it.

“They now can negotiate directly with anybody who might be interested rather than going through a sheriff’s sale from now on,” Schatz said. “I’m guessing, if anybody is interested, they will contact Dougherty Funding directly and try to work something out.”

The Singh Brothers and another Minneapolis-based company, SBM Holdings, both had placed winning bids at previous foreclosure sales. While they were able to pay the initial deposit up front, both organizations were unable to come up with the rest of the money before by the court-appointed date.

— The Spectator staff