Hotel Converted To Condos Now Buying Out Owners To Become Hotel Again

Article Courtesy of WFTV Channel 9 -- Orlando

Published June 29, 2008 

 

Just when you thought downtown Orlando's condo crisis couldn't get worse, it has. The Lexington, a high-rise condo tower built out of an old downtown hotel, is returning to its roots and turning back into a hotel.

 

Owners who bought condos at The Lexington are now being offered pennies on the dollar for their investments. All of the owners were offered a flat fee of $88,000, less than half of what most of them paid.

   

Over the years, the property has struggled through a number of owners and failed promises. The new owners say the Crowne Plaza name will be good for business and Orlando's economy.

 

There were big plans for Orlando's first condo-hotel right to next I-4, but The Lexington went into bankruptcy last year when fewer than half of its 227 condos sold. S&L Hospitality bought the property for $23.5 million and is now turning it into a Crowne Plaza hotel, leaving 30 people who still own condos with little options.

 

"It's a nightmare. I bought this unit for an investment to make money and I have not made anything. I have lost money," said Jane King.

 Condo Owners Learn Their Building Is Becoming Hotel Again


King paid $199,000 for a condo on the sixth floor. S&L Hospitality offered to buy it from her for $88,000.

  

"That's less than half of what I paid for it," King said. "I'm not going to do it. I'm going to rent my own unit."

Condo owners who don't want to sell their unit but instead profit from hotel guests have to pay crown plaza $4,700 for upgrades. Even though King and others refused the offer they call insulting, hotel staff went into their units without their permission and took out their beds and rearranged their furniture.

"They thought everyone was going to jump on board with this and I am not jumping on board," King said.

The new owners told Eyewitness News they can't offer any more than $88,000 per unit because that is what they paid for them. So far, two have taken the offer.

For condo owners who sign up for the hotel rental plan, they'll get half of the $122 a night rate.

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