Property owners R.K. and Geetaban Patel agreed this month to sell the 501 ½ Main St. for $750,000, less than the asking price but more than double its assessed value of $343,000.

Attorneys for the City last year won a court battle that declared Monterey Hotel a "blight" to urban renewal plans, opening the door for condemnation proceedings. The property owners filed an appeal that was scheduled for a hearing this month. Attorneys for both sides have delayed the hearing, and plan to drop it altogether it once the sale closes.

One of many possible buyers is Portland-based Killian Pacific. The development firm owns not only the Frontier Room, which shares a wall with the Monterey, but also the nearby six-story West Coast Bank Building.