When the Statler Hilton opened in 1967, Baltimore’s mayor heralded the 23-story hotel as “vivid evidence” of downtown’s revitalization. Some 1,500 people — including Playboy Bunnies and the Catholic archbishop — attended its kickoff party, which featured swans gliding among water lilies and four live bands, The Baltimore Sun reported at the time.

The hotel changed hands multiple times since then. Its orange corduroy couches are long gone, and Baltimore’s once-thriving downtown is a collection of half-empty office buildings and vacant storefronts. When the former hotel reopened as an apartment complex last year, it was supposed to signal a new direction for downtown as a residential neighborhood.

Instead, court records show, the towering apartment building is bleeding money and facing foreclosure.

Vivo Investment Group, a California-based real estate firm that specializes in converting hotels into apartments, bought the tower at 101 W. Fayette St. in 2022. Following renovations, Vivo Baltimore opened as an apartment complex last year, with plans to convert the adjoining hotel tower into apartments next.

But earlier this month, a real estate lender based in Los Angeles sued Vivo Baltimore for allegedly defaulting on a $45 million loan. Parkview Financial has asked a judge to turn over the day-to-day operations to a third-party company, a process known as receivership.

Vivo did not respond to a request for comment. According to its website, the company specializes in buying hotels across the country and converting them into apartments.

In its lawsuit, Parkview says it lent $45 million to Vivo on April 7, 2022. The next day, Vivo bought the property on West Fayette. Land records show more than $11 million went toward the purchase, with the remainder used for renovations.

“Some renters in Baltimore are spending 50% of their income on rent. Vivo Living offers naturally occurring affordable rents in a newly renovated high-rise located in the heart of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor where many can walk to their jobs,” CEO Dan Norville told WJZ in 2022.

According to Vivo Baltimore’s website, rent for a studio apartment starts below $1,000 a month.

Starting this fall, Vivo missed three straight monthly debt payments, the lawsuit said, and the apartment building lost more than $819,000 in October.

As of Dec. 5, Vivo’s cash on hand and expected rental income totaled a little over $213,000, the lawsuit said, compared to operating expenses of almost $628,000 — a loss of nearly $415,000.

Vivo is also behind on paying its general contractor, which has given notice it intends to file a lien on the property, the lawsuit said. Additionally, the company has failed to pay its property tax bill and incurred a penalty, which Parkview said will cost a total of $589,000 to repay.

It’s unclear what will happen to the second tower that Vivo Baltimore owns, which is located one the same block at 110 W. Baltimore St. Vivo spent $11.1 million to buy that tower, an extension of the hotel that opened in 1974. City records show there are no active building permits at that address.

The lawsuit said the apartment complex has about 550 units, but it’s unclear if all of them have been renovated. Records show the city has issued permits for just 302 apartment units so far.