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Belltown's Potala Tower Could Be Revived With New Deal

if a judge agrees to the deal, a Chinese company and Las Vegas developer will complete the structure

Potala Tower in Belltown started with such promise. Seattle mayor Ed Murray, actor Tom Skerritt, and Tibetan monks showed up for the groundbreaking. Developer Lobsang Dargey envisioned a 342-unit residential tower that rose 41 stories high. Then Dargey was accused of defrauding investors and misusing funds and all of his projects went into a standstill.

Nine months later, it looks like the stalled Potala Tower project may have new life as a judge will decide about a proposal that would transfer ownership from Dargey to Chinese company Binjiang and Las Vegas real estate developer Molasky. The two companies would complete the tower and invest $30M more into the project. An unusual caveat in the deal is that Dargey would receive $1.8 million to cover legal fees in his fight against the SEC.

Naturally, the SEC opposes the deal. They'll find out on Thursday whether or not it'll go through.
· Chinese firm competes with Vulcan to take over scandal-plagued Belltown tower project [PSBJ]
· Tom Skerritt & Tibetan Monks Break Ground on Potala Tower [CS]
· Mapping Developments Affected by Lobsang Dargey Allegations [CS]