The onsite auction for a former Little Italy restaurant was canceled this week following the building’s owner voluntarily filing for bankruptcy.
The 12,000-square-foot site, which used to house the Milan restaurant, was scheduled to be auctioned off on Thursday.
Bidding for the building, which is worth an estimated $2 million, was canceled after its owner, HSN LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.
As of Friday, Alex Cooper Auctioneers, who were scheduled to host the receiver’s sale, posted on their website that the auction was canceled.
Its listed agent, Paul Cooper, confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that the auction was canceled directly due to the bankruptcy filing.
The building has gone through years of embattlement. After Milan faced turmoil due to complaints that the upscale restaurant and lounge was doubling as a nightclub, it shut down in 2014. The property has been vacant since then.
Arguments arose over what the building should be turned into, with property owner Sean Shaprast previously proposing in September 2016 to replace Milan with dozens of apartment units in a four-or six-story complex, according to a report by the Baltimore Business Journal.
The property formerly operated as Luigi Petti, an Italian-themed restaurant, from 1990 until 2006.
