"By the end of the year." In May 2023, the Arizona Republic said that was when the Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley hotel was expected to open. That year ended without an opening. So did 2024, and so did 2025. Today is October 12, 2026, and the 215-room hotel near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road still hasn't welcomed a guest.
There is still no new opening date. What exists now is a condition in a bankruptcy plan. Under the joint Chapter 11 plan filed on September 18, 2026, the hotel would go up for sale, and any qualified bidder would have to name an experienced hotel developer committed to finishing the building. For years, the timeline for this corner came from a developer's forecasts. If the plan moves forward, completion becomes part of the terms of sale.
How The Dates Slipped
The project has been in some stage of development since 2008, according to Phoenix Business Journal. The public opening targets of the last few years read like a countdown that kept resetting.
| When it was reported | What was said about the hotel | Source |
|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | Expected to open "by the end of the year" | Arizona Republic |
| February 2024 | Projected to open in 2024, with work focused on interiors and guest rooms | Arizona Republic |
| March 30, 2024 | First villa residents moving in; the resort opening still "several months away" | Arizona Republic |
| November 2025 | Developer files for Chapter 11 | Arizona Republic |
| September 2026 | Plan proposes selling the incomplete hotel at auction | Phoenix Business Journal |
The February 2024 entry comes from a Republic report on spas and villas, which described construction as focused on interiors and guest rooms. About a month later, the Republic's March 2024 coverage reported that the first residents were moving into villas, while the resort itself was still months from opening.
That gap is the strangest part of this site. People have been living in Ritz-Carlton-branded homes at the resort since spring 2024, more than two and a half years before the hotel they were built around has opened.
What Was Supposed To Fill The 122 Acres
Phoenix Business Journal describes the project as a $2 billion master-planned community spread across 122 acres. Five Star Development's own November 2025 court declaration says that when complete, it would be the first project in the United States to combine a new-build Ritz-Carlton resort, Ritz-Carlton-branded residences and a luxury retail district "within a single walkable environment." According to that filing, the project has three pieces:
- The hotel. 215 rooms, a 16,000-square-foot spa, more than 80,000 square feet of outdoor event space, a 400-foot pool, and planned restaurants including Mott 32 and Carbone. Once open, it would be operated by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, a Marriott subsidiary.
- The residences. 80 villas, described as fully pre-sold, and 32 estate homes, several of which the filing said were already occupied, under construction or under contract.
- The Palmeraie. A fully entitled 29-acre district planned for about 160,000 square feet of retail, dining and experiential space, with additional phases approved for branded condominiums and office-integrated uses.
All of this was written in November 2025, and the declaration describes plans as they stood then. It says the renderings and construction photographs "reflect a project substantially complete." We have not found a current, verified list of Palmeraie tenants or restaurants open to the public, so we aren't reporting any as operating.
How A Lender Dispute Became A Texas Bankruptcy Case
The Arizona Republic calls Madison Realty Capital the project's main lender. Phoenix Business Journal, citing Maricopa County records, reports that Madison made a $585 million loan tied to the Ritz-Carlton development in May 2023, the same month the end-of-2023 opening target appeared in print. In August 2025, Madison moved to foreclose.
The foreclosure stopped there. Five Star entities filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on November 4, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, under the name F-Star Socorro, L.P. et al., Case No. 25-90607. As the Arizona Republic reported a week later, the filing halted Madison's foreclosure attempt and canceled scheduled court hearings in the related lawsuit.
By July 28, 2026, the debtors told the court in a filing that they were still working on a Chapter 11 plan. Seven weeks later, they filed it.
What The September Plan Actually Proposes
Phoenix Business Journal's account of the September 18 filing describes a few moving parts. Five Star Development's assets would move into a plan trust that would "hold, administer, liquidate and distribute the plan trust assets for the benefit of the plan trust beneficiaries." The hotel, which the plan document says includes restaurants, retail, meeting and ballroom space, would be marketed for sale.
The sale would go through court-approved bidding procedures, and the bankruptcy court would have to approve any sale. The bidder requirement in the plan reads:
Any qualified bidder must "identify an experienced hotel developer who is committing to complete development of the hotel Property and who is reasonably acceptable to the Ritz Project Debtors."
That clause matters most to anyone who drives Scottsdale Road. As proposed, the auction would require every bidder to bring an experienced hotel developer committed to finishing the hotel, and it gives the current ownership side a say in which developer is acceptable.
The plan also gives the current ownership a second way forward. Holders of the debtors' parent equity interests would keep an option to buy the hotel and the undeveloped land "free and clear of liens, claims, interests, and other encumbrances." The option starts at $570 million. From that, the plan subtracts the $90 million Madison agreed to pay, through a credit bid, for the Five Star properties in El Paso, a sale the court approved on September 25. The final figure would also reflect Madison's claims, full payment to Five Star's unsecured creditors, and any villa proceeds already paid to Madison.
Phoenix Business Journal reported that both Five Star Development and Madison Realty Capital declined to comment.
The Next Date To Watch
The plan would go to a vote on November 4, 2026, if a judge approves it. That is 23 days from today, and exactly one year after the original Chapter 11 petition.
Here is what is and isn't settled as of October 12:
- Settled: The case is pending in Houston under Case No. 25-90607, and the El Paso credit-bid sale to Madison was approved September 25.
- Proposed: The plan trust, the hotel auction, the developer-commitment requirement and the $570 million equity option.
- Conditional: The November 4 vote, which depends on a judge's approval first.
- Unknown: Any named bidder. Phoenix Business Journal's reporting identifies none, and nothing we found shows the plan has been approved.
If the plan moves ahead, the most useful thing to watch for is who comes forward as a developer, since that name would be the first real signal of a completion timeline. An opening date announced before that point would be one more forecast like the ones in 2023 and 2024.
We follow this corner of Paradise Valley closely because it sits among the homes our clients own and buy. If you live near Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road and want help keeping track of what the November 4 vote and any sale could mean for the corner, Kapanicas Group can go through the filings with you. Schedule a Free Market Consultation, and we'll keep you updated as the case moves forward.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
