The Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley Has Residents but No Hotel. December's Court Dates Set What Comes Next.

At 7000 E. Lincoln Drive, the villas are finished and the hotel is not. Five Star's October 14, 2026 disclosure statement describes 80 Ritz-Carlton-branded villas, "the vast majority of which are occupied," and 32 estate homes, several of which are "already occupied, under construction, or under contract." The same filing says the 215-room hotel will be run by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, a Marriott subsidiary, "once operational."

For anyone comparing branded residences in Paradise Valley, the date to watch is December 15, when a federal bankruptcy court in Houston holds its confirmation hearing on the project's plan. The homes here were sold as part of a resort, and the town connected those homes to the hotel in a way that most branded residences are not connected.

The permit that ties a villa to the hotel

In August 2025, AZBEX reported that the Town of Paradise Valley had stopped issuing certificates of occupancy for newly completed villas because the resort had missed its timeline obligations. According to AZBEX, the developer's lawsuit said that delay caused several villa buyers to back out and more to plan to. AZBEX put the number of villas whose sales were held up at 40, worth about $150 million. In the same report, AZBEX said several villas had sold for between $2.5 million and $4.5 million as of August 2025.

At this address, local reporting describes a sequence in which the town's approvals for the homes depended on progress at the hotel. No later public record shows that this hold has been lifted. Five Star's October 2026 disclosure statement gives a different explanation for the stoppage. It alleges that the lender, Madison Realty Capital, went to local officials to halt certificates for villa and estate-home sales. That is the debtor's allegation in a contested case, and AZBEX reported that Madison has denied the developer's earlier claims of interference. Under either explanation, the homes and the hotel are tied together, and the hotel is the part that is unfinished.

Nineteen years from announcement, and the opening date keeps moving

AZBEX dates the 122-acre project to a 2007 announcement, with construction starting in 2018. These are the published targets since then:

1. End of 2019, according to a 2018 YourValley report.
2. Summer 2020, then the first quarter of 2021, then fall 2022, according to PHOENIX magazine in April 2021.
3. Sometime in 2024, according to The Arizona Republic in February 2024.
4. Late fall 2025 or early spring 2026, the developer's projection as reported by The Arizona Republic in March 2025.

People were living on the property well before the third of those dates came due. The Arizona Republic reported the first villa residents moving in at the end of March 2024. Five Star and its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 on November 4, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, as case 25-90607. The Daily Independent reported at the time that hotel construction had halted and that the developer was seeking a restart. Since then the project has not had a target opening date. It has a court schedule.

Where the plan would direct money from villa sales

The amended plan filed on October 14, 2026 sets out who would receive the money from the remaining villas. According to a summary of the plan terms, proceeds from villa sales would go only to Madison, after brokerage commissions, closing costs and royalty fees, and would be applied to its loan claims. The debtors or the plan trustee would keep selling the remaining villas, or could transfer them to Madison in exchange for a reduction of its claim in an amount the court sets. The plan does not say how many villas are still unsold.

In December 2025, Five Star said homeowners "continue to enjoy full Ritz-Carlton-managed services."

A buyer looking at a remaining villa may end up dealing with a different seller than they expect, depending on how the trust handles the inventory. This post covers court filings and published reports as general information. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Anyone under contract or considering a villa or estate home here should review their own documents with a real estate attorney and a title professional.

The calendar between now and a finished resort

The court's October 14 scheduling order sets these dates, all in prevailing Central Time, and says the debtors may modify them as necessary:

A Phoenix Business Journal preview in late September said a creditor vote was set for November. The court's later order moved the voting deadline to December 7.

If the plan is confirmed, the next step is a sale. The resort and its furniture, fixtures and equipment would be marketed under court-approved Section 363 bidding procedures. The sale must close within six months after the court approves those procedures, and the deadline can be extended twice, by six months each time. Including both extensions, that allows up to 18 months after the procedures are approved. The plan does not set a date for approving those procedures, and it does not set a date for construction to resume.

Under the plan, a qualified bidder must name an experienced hotel developer that commits to completing the resort, identify where the completion money will come from, and give the trustee reasonable consultation rights on the development.

Some other terms will affect who that buyer turns out to be:

• Parent equity option. The current ownership group can buy the resort, its fixtures and the undeveloped land without an auction for at least $570 million in cash, adjusted for several claims. It has to meet the same bidder requirements.
• The lender's claim. Madison's construction loan claim is treated as allowed at $570.31 million for plan purposes but is designated as disputed.
• Credit bidding. On October 19, 2026, the debtors filed a preliminary motion asking the court to bar Madison from credit bidding on the Ritz project. That is a request, and the court has not ruled on it.
• Who runs it. If the plan is confirmed, the remaining assets go into a trust managed by Lance Miller, the debtors' chief restructuring officer.

What "resort-integrated" means at this address in late 2026

The disclosure statement still describes the homes as having "direct access to the Hotel Property and retail district." The filing calls the retail district, The Palmeraie, a "fully entitled 29-acre district" planned for about 160,000 square feet of retail, dining and experiential space. The plan itself lists the Palmeraie parcels as undeveloped land. The hotel restaurants, Mott 32 and Carbone, and the 16,000-square-foot spa appear in the bankruptcy filings as future features. Published reports and filings do not show any of them open to the public.

For anyone comparing Paradise Valley branded residences, the villas are finished, while the hotel restaurants and spa appear as future features in the filings.

A few questions that come up

Is any part of the hotel open? The October 2026 filings describe the hotel as operating "once operational." The September 2026 Phoenix Business Journal preview calls it incomplete.

Will the December 15 hearing definitely happen on that date? The court order says the dates are subject to modification by the debtors, so the docket is the place to watch. Filings in case 25-90607 are posted publicly through the claims agent, Stretto.

Does confirmation mean construction restarts in January? No. Under the plan, a confirmed plan leads to a marketing and sale process, and the sale has its own deadline of up to 18 months after bidding procedures are approved. The plan requires the buyer to commit to completing the resort, but it does not set a restart date.

Has the town resumed issuing certificates of occupancy for villas? No public statement or council record since AZBEX's August 2025 report shows that the hold has been lifted. Anyone with a specific property in mind should ask the town and their title company directly.

If you are weighing a branded residence in Paradise Valley, Sue Shapiro can discuss comparable alternatives with you, privately and in plain terms. Let's Connect.