Atlanta Developer Buys Foreclosed Downtown Hotel

Eichenblatt says he paid LAGF of Philadelphia $6 million, or about $21,352 per room, for the two-story property built by the late New York entrepreneur Harry Helmsley in 1962 at 151 East Washington St. for a reported $15 million.

Originally called the Harley Hotel, Eichenblatt tells GlobeSt.com that "during its heyday in the late '60s and '70s, Orlando residents regarded the Harley as the Ritz Carlton of Orlando." The hotel overlooks Lake Eola, considered the centerpiece of Downtown. The converted property will be called Metropolitan at Lake Eola.

"We have the best parcel in Orlando," Eichenblatt tells GlobeSt.com. "Out your front door is a park and out your back door is your office. It is cheaper to buy here than it is to continue renting." Seventy percent of the planned 128 units will be one-bedroom; the balance will be two-bedroom. Nine penthouse suites will sell in the $300,000 range.

Metropolitan at Lake Eola will be competing against 1,500 planned new condo and converted condo units that have been built or being completed in the Downtown perimeter.

Renamed in 1999, Four Points Sheraton became part of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide reservations network under new owner, Orlando Hyatt Hotel Associates. The property, however, was placed under Chapter 11 protection under the US Bankruptcy Code in May 2002.

In September of this year, Orlando Hyatt Hotel Associates told a US Bankruptcy Court judge in Orlando it had lined up a buyer to purchase both the Four Points Sheraton and its other foreclosed property, the 919-room, 20-year-old Hyatt Orlando near Walt Disney World. Orlando Hyatt told the court the contract price was $26.5 million for both properties but the undisclosed buyer couldn't go through with the deal for lack of funding, according to court documents.

CIG International LLC's Winter Park, FL office and Capital Source of New York provided Eichenblatt with acquisition financing. Pertree Constructors Inc. of Orlando is the general contractor for the renovations. Coldwell Banker the Condo Store is handling marketing and sales.