Foreclosure Problems for Event Venue at Historic Mansion in El Paso, Texas

Financial difficulties appear to have closed The Manor at Ten Eleven, an event venue located in a 112-year-old renovated mansion on a prominent corner near downtown El Paso. The owners have temporarily halted a bank foreclosure while one of their companies files for bankruptcy.

The contact number for The Manor is inactive, and a lock secures the front gate of the mansion at 1011 N. Mesa St., across from St. Patrick Cathedral in Uptown El Paso. No updates have appeared on The Manor’s Facebook or Instagram since January.

Initially launched as a private event venue in October 2020, it opened to the public in June 2021, according to its website and a 2021 press release. The foreclosure auction planned by Vantage Bank for September 3 was stopped on August 30 by a temporary restraining order from the court, requested by Nora and Ernesto Herrera, whose firm, A.B.A.N.E. Properties, owns the site and manages the event venue The Manor.

However, on Monday, September 9, after a lengthy 5-hour hearing, Judge Melissa Baeza of County Court at Law 3 ruled against the Herreras, lifting the temporary restraining order and denying their request for a permanent injunction pending a trial on their lawsuit against Vantage Bank Texas and WestStar Bank.

The Herreras’ lawsuit, related to the loans provided by the banks to their business, remains active. These loans are secured by several properties owned by A.B.A.N.E., including The Manor mansion. Other contested properties include a former medical center and a large, vacant home on approximately five acres in the Upper Valley.

Nora Herrera and her attorney, Paul Grajeda, have yet to comment on The Manor’s situation, either when approached outside the court hearing or through phone calls and email.

A.B.A.N.E. is in bankruptcy, filing under Chapter 11, through which The Manor and other properties could be sold. The couple also runs The Herrera Group, a company offering wealth management and other financial services, with offices located right next to The Manor.

The federal bankruptcy court judge in El Paso approved a pending agreement to sell The Manor and an adjacent lot for $2.4 million to Mont Lee Properties, another company owned by the Herreras, according to bankruptcy court records. The properties are appraised for tax purposes at $861,090 by the El Paso Central Appraisal District.

The sale has not been completed, and the Herreras initiated legal action against the banks, filing a lawsuit and an injunction request on August 30. During the September 9 court hearing, Nora Herrera testified that they had obtained partial financing from a private lender to buy back The Manor through Mont Lee Properties.

James Brewer, the attorney for Vantage Bank, argued in bankruptcy court that it has authority over property sales and that a state court in Hidalgo County has already ruled against A.B.A.N.E. for the amounts owed on Vantage’s loans. He requested the dismissal of the injunction and the lawsuit. The case is still ongoing.

Available Foreclosures:

El Paso: 5 homes available.

By Elias DaSilva | September 24, 2024.