Motel sale ‘no link’ to abduction

A HARE Krishna company that owns a Miami motel is selling up but not because of the abduction of the property’s manager prior to Christmas.

Ben Evans, of Canford Estate Agents, yesterday said the company had been moving toward a sales push for the highway-front Miami Shore property prior to the incident.

“Although the manager’s abduction was a concern, the company’s owners had wanted to sell the property and business prior to that occurring.

“We understand the abduction was a case of mistaken identity and it hasn’t affected the trading or running of the business.”

Two people have been charged over the abduction, which reportedly involved the manager being bashed, forced into a car, made to withdraw money, and then dumped in Brisbane.

Hare Krishna Enterprises bought the motel, at 2016 Gold Coast Highway, for $1.5m in 2004.

The company is owned by Naresh, Kanhaiya and Gopal Devjani, of Mumbai, India.

The 16-room Miami Shore is on a 1129sq m site which also fronts Chainey Avenue and is 400m from the beach.

Mr Evans, who is marketing the motel with colleague Patrick Pancur, said the site had a medium-density residential zoning and was 250 metres from the planned Miami light-rail station.

“It’s suitable for a mid-rise residential building or shortstay hotel, with some commercial space on the ground level,” he said. “Once the light-rail station is built, there could be an uplift in the zoning under a new city plan.”

Mr Evans said the owners’ preference was for an outright sale but they would consider a development joint venture where they put in the land and took on a passive role.

The motel, which has net income of $270,000 a year, is being offered via an expressions of interest campaign that closes on January 28.