Arden Group Puts Omni Colonnade Back on the Market

Now it has retained the Miami office of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels to seek a buyer. Gregory Rumpel and Christian Charre, JLL SVPs, head the marketing team. Rumpel tells GlobeSt.com it is being marketed nationally and internationally under two scenarios. "It's a great candidate for condo hotel conversion, and it's also a very viable four-star hotel property," he says, "particularly because no hotel rooms are being added in this area, while tourism is increasing significantly.

"We'll let the market dictate price," he says, declining to provide even an asking range. "Business levels in the first quarter of this year have exceeded expectations," he says, reporting occupancy at the property now averages in the mid-70% level.

The hotel was completed in 1987 and connects with the historic Colonnade Rotunda, which was built in 1926 and contains 6,000 sf of meeting space under a 60-foot-high, glass-domed ceiling. It is included in the sale offer and adds to the more than 18,000 sf of meeting space in the hotel. The sale does not include a contiguous office tower of approximately 200,000 sf, which is owned by Crescent Realty.

Arden acquired Omni Colonnade "just prior to 9/11," Rumpel tells GlobeSt.com. It is operated by Park City, UT-based Gemstone Resorts. While no acquisition price was published when Arden bought the hotel, GlobeSt.com reported that the property was then appraised at $36 million by the Miami-Dade appraisal office.