On October 19, 2021, S. Frazier Bell and Mary W. Bell signed a contract to buy a villa next to The Ritz-Carlton, Paradise Valley for $2,995,000. They paid a $299,500 deposit, which was 10 percent of the price, and another $384,546 for modifications they requested. Five Star agreed to finish the villa within two years. In a declaration filed in bankruptcy court in March 2026, Mr. Bell says that by September 2025 the villa still wasn't done. In the meantime, the couple had bought another condo.

The most useful line in that filing is the contract's definition of "complete." A unit is not considered complete until a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued. At this project, whether that certificate gets issued has depended partly on the hotel next door.

A Villa's Certificate, Tied to a Hotel's Progress

The Town of Paradise Valley approved the resort under Ordinance 694, which adopted special use permit SUP-15-01 for 7000 E. Lincoln Drive. The permit made development subject to a 2015 Development Agreement and described a 200-key hotel and 94 villas. The hotel was the reason for the approval. The homes came with it.

That order of priorities became visible in 2025. AZBEX reported in August 2025 that the Town had stopped issuing certificates of occupancy for newly completed villas because the resort portion had missed its timeline obligations. The report said the hold stopped the sale of 40 villas worth about $150 million. Asked about it that month, Town Manager Andrew Ching gave the Town's position in one sentence:

"We support the developers of this exciting Ritz Carlton project by approving condominiums as their construction is complete and substantial progress is made towards completion of the hotel."

The quote names no number and no deadline. The public record we reviewed doesn't show the executed agreement's hotel milestones, a formal Town decision lifting the 2025 hold, or any later amendment. The only copy of the Development Agreement posted on the Town's site is labeled a nonbinding draft. What a buyer can know for certain is narrower. At this address, a home's certificate of occupancy has been treated as connected to a hotel's progress, and that hotel's construction has been largely stalled since early 2025, by the developer's own account.

How the Villas Started Closing Again

Five Star Development and its affiliates filed Chapter 11 on November 4, 2025. That was eight days before a trustee sale on the project was scheduled. Three court steps since then have moved villa sales forward.

1. Clean title. In early December 2025, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Texas ruled that villa sales could go ahead without interference from lienholders. Any liens attach to the sale proceeds instead of the villas, so owners can get clean, insurable title. The Arizona Republic covered the ruling.
2. Money to finish. In February 2026, the court approved a cash-collateral arrangement that allows up to $24.6 million of the lender's cash collateral to pay for villa completion. Hotel expenses are excluded unless the lender agrees otherwise.
3. A builder under contract. The debtors won approval to assume their construction agreement with Armstrong Residential Services LLC, which they describe as critical to completing the villas.

According to a September 22, 2026 court filing, 20 villas have closed since the petition date, bringing in about $65.37 million in net sale proceeds. That works out to roughly $3.3 million net per villa on average. The developer's first-day declaration said 44 of the 80 villas had sold before the filing. The debtors also say they are negotiating settlements with some villa purchasers over contract disputes, so those units can be relisted.

The bankruptcy did the villas a favor. Before the filing, completed homes were stuck behind a lender fight and a certificate hold. After it, they became the part of the project that could actually be sold.

Where a Villa Buyer's Dollar Goes

The liquidating plan the Ritz project debtors filed on September 18, 2026 spells out what happens to villa money. Villa sale proceeds are defined as gross proceeds minus brokerage commissions, customary closing costs, and royalty fees. Under the plan, those proceeds go only to the construction lender, RC PV Lender I LLC, which the plan calls Madison. No other trust beneficiary shares in them. The plan sets Madison's agreed claim at $570,310,000 plus interest.

For a buyer, that money trail matters. Until the plan is confirmed, the February 2026 cash-collateral order controls villa proceeds, and its approved spending covers villa costs, not hotel construction. If the plan is confirmed, net villa proceeds go toward the lender's claim. In neither case does a villa purchase pay to finish the hotel that gives the Ritz-Carlton name its meaning on this site. The plan also lets the debtors or trustee hand unsold villas to Madison in exchange for a reduction in its claim. A future seller of a neighboring unit could turn out to be the lender itself.

Here is how reported villa pricing has moved while the hotel stayed unfinished:

These figures don't amount to a price index. The units differ in size and finish, and the post-petition average is net of selling costs. Even so, buyers have kept paying multimillion-dollar prices for Ritz-Carlton-branded villas through a foreclosure threat, a bankruptcy, and a hotel with no opening date. Much of what they are buying is the expectation that someone eventually finishes that hotel.

The Hotel's Path Runs Through a Court Sale

In March 2025, the Arizona Republic reported a projected opening of late fall 2025 or early spring 2026. By February 2026, The Real Deal reported that the hotel had no new opening date. The September plan treats the hotel as an asset to sell. It is described as 215 rooms, made up of 78 hotel guestrooms and 137 casitas, plus restaurant, retail, meeting, and ballroom space.

Three terms in the plan matter to anyone who owns or is weighing a villa:

• A finisher is required. A qualified bidder must name an experienced hotel developer that commits to completing the property, show its sources of funding, and give the plan trustee reasonable consultation rights.
• The clock starts late. The sale has to close within six months after the court approves hotel bidding procedures, and the debtors can extend that twice by six months each. Those procedures come after confirmation, so the time to a new owner could stretch as long as 18 months past that approval.
• The existing owners have a first option. Parent equity holders can buy the hotel, its furnishings, and the undeveloped land for no less than $570 million in cash plus adjustments. If they exercise the option, there is no auction.

The plan is a proposal. The Phoenix Business Journal reported on September 28, 2026 that a vote is scheduled for November. We could not confirm the hearing date or the ballot deadline. The plan summary also doesn't say whether the Ritz-Carlton hotel flag or the residential management arrangements transfer to a buyer.

What Is on the Ground Today

The parts that exist are residential. In August 2025, Phoenix Business Journal managing editor Paul Thompson told KJZZ that many of the condos were up and running, with a clubhouse and a bar pool. The developer's declaration describes 80 villas and 32 estate homes designed to the Ritz-Carlton residential program, with direct access to the hotel and the retail district. In another passage, the same filing counts 30 estate homes.

The planned amenities are still plans. Mott 32 and Carbone are named as future hotel restaurants. The Palmeraie is a 29-acre district planned for about 160,000 square feet of retail and dining, where unnamed luxury brands have signed leases or letters of intent. We found no source confirming that any Palmeraie tenant is open. The plan also allows both Palmeraie parcels and the estate-home lots to be sold, either with the hotel or separately.

For a snowbird looking at a lock-and-leave villa, the practical question is which services run today without a hotel, and who pays for them. We found no public figures for association dues or a separate brand fee. Those numbers have to come from the documents in your transaction. Before signing, it is reasonable to ask for:

1. The certificate of occupancy for the specific unit, already issued, and the date it was issued
2. A title commitment showing the unit conveys under the December 2025 court order, without developer liens
3. The condominium declaration and budget for the 7000 East Lincoln Villas Condominium, including current assessments and who manages the association
4. A written list of the residential services and amenities operating now, kept separate from the ones promised for when the hotel opens
5. If the seller is an owner who bought earlier, the resale terms that apply under the association documents

These are diligence questions, not legal or financial advice. A real estate attorney can review what the answers mean for your contract.

FAQ

Can I get insurable title on a Ritz-Carlton villa while the developer is in bankruptcy? The December 2025 ruling was written to allow exactly that. Liens attach to the sale proceeds instead of the villa. Confirm it through your own title commitment.

Does buying a villa help get the hotel finished? Not directly. Under the proposed plan, net villa proceeds go only to Madison. Hotel completion depends on a buyer who commits to finishing it.

Is the Town of Paradise Valley still linking villa certificates to the hotel? The 2025 hold was reported, and the Town Manager described approvals as tied to substantial progress on the hotel. We found no public record of the hold being formally lifted or changed. Twenty villas have closed since November 2025.

Few Paradise Valley addresses carry this much documentation behind each sale, and reading it before an offer is the kind of work Peggy Young does for buyers and seasonal owners every day. If you're considering a villa at 7000 E. Lincoln Drive, or comparing it with other lock-and-leave options in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale, Peggy can help you gather the certificate, title, and association documents before you decide, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.