FDIC unloads Grand Palace in Branson

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed this week on the sale of Branson's vacant Grand Palace.

Branson Entertainment Center LLC purchased the 13-acre property Sept. 30 for $2.7 million, said FDIC spokesman Greg Hernandez. The nearly 100,000-square-foot building was listed at $5.4 million, according to LoopNet.com.

The buying entity was organized Aug. 26 by Daniel Fabiano, a workers' compensation and business transaction attorney for Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP in California. Fabiano could not be reached for comment by deadline.

The FDIC became trustee of the Grand Palace in 2008 after note holder Columbian Bank and Trust Co., in Topeka, Kan., was shut down by regulators. The FDIC was named receiver of the bank, including the note on the Branson theater. The FDIC foreclosed on the note June 29, 2011. It has since had trouble selling the mammoth theater.

On the foreclosure date, Tennessee-based Kingdom Wealth Builders LLC agreed to submit a $5.5 million bid - about half of its original $10 million asking price - but ultimately was unable to pay for the theater.

The marketing efforts of the FDIC also were stymied by legal issues surrounding the Branson property. In late 2012, a federal judge dismissed claims made against the FDIC by former property manager Paul Dunn, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.