Lehman Hot Springs has a new owner.

During a public auction this morning on the front steps of the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton, Portland broker Walter Ratzlaf bid $673,000 on the foreclosed property.

The Umatilla County Assessor’s Office has valued the property at a little more than $580,000.

Ratzlaf was the only bidder for the 440-acre resort that in years past had been a favorite recreation spot as well as an environmental hazard. Ratlaf also is the major creditor of John Patrick Lucas, owner of the Lehman Development Corp., which until this morning owned the resort.

Lucas and the corporation were on the hook for $653,000 in principal for the resort and nearly $276,000 in interest to multiple creditors, along with another $2,100 in attorney fees and other costs.

Lucas wasn’t at the auction, and Ratzlaf said he had no comment on the purchase.

Because of the sale, Judge Garry Reynolds this afternoon postponed further proceedings in the state’s civil suit against Lucas. Reynolds said in two weeks he would hold a teleconference with the state prosecutors and public defenders to ensure Lucas isn’t controlling anything at the resort.

For more on the story, see Wednesday’s East Oregonian.