For the first time in nearly 15 years, the company that leases the Queen Mary changed hands Tuesday. But who will end up developing the valuable property around the ship – and for what – remains strikingly unclear, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.
Using money from a variety of lenders and investors, a development company known as Save the Queen paid $43 million to buy the lease from Queen’s Seaport Development Inc., which declared bankruptcy two years ago to escape mounting debt.
The sale closed Tuesday, and the lease assignment was expected to be recorded at 8 a.m. this morning. A news conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. on the ship’s Sun Deck to formally announce the transfer of title.
“I’m pleased for so many different constituencies, including and especially the city of Long Beach,” said Howard Ehrenberg, the bankruptcy trustee who brokered the sale. He added that the 71-year-old art deco ship, which the city of Long Beach purchased in 1967, “certainly can expect to see brighter days in the future.”
