Lawsuit holding up hotel near UCF.
Ownership of the Doubletree hotel near University of Central Florida is still caught up in litigation surrounding the Nik Patel scandal – months after the hotel was supposed to be sold at auction, according to court records.
It was expected that a team of Florida real estate investors would take possession of the 242-room hotel after they bid $30 million for it during the July sale on Auction.com.
At the time, Orlando businessman David Bansmer said he was one of the partners in the winning bid placed by Orlando International Hotels Inc.
But OIH never closed on the sale, according to federal court dockets and a federal lawsuit filed by OIH. County property records indicate a subsidiary of Patel’s company, Alena Hospitality, still holds a deed on the property. A court-appointed receiver is overseeing the Patel companies.
OIH included Bansmer and New Orleans-based Robert J. Guidry Investments. Bansmer said he and his business partners were “bullish on Orlando” and that they had considered bidding on all three of Patel’s Orlando hotel properties.
According to the litigation, OIH put down a deposit of $1.53 million on the hotel. But a dispute arose after that over the timeline for the closure date, and OIH filed suit for a refund of its deposit.
The court-appointed receiver, Patrick Cavanaugh, is contesting the request for a refund.
The Doubletree by Hilton was the only one of Patel’s five hotels that was operating at the time that he was arrested on an FBI allegation of loan fraud in September 2014.
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Pharmacy jobs
Turmoil in Orlando’s pharmacy industry is continuing this week, with some good news about possible hiring and expansion in Seminole County.
Axium Healthcare Pharmacy is planning a second location in Seminole, with an investment of up to $25 million for new facilities that would employ a minimum of 225 people. The company already employs over 200 people and is headquartered at 550 Technology Park in Lake Mary.
It is seeking an incentive package of state and local public money totaling $1.12 million. The city of Lake Mary and Seminole County are preparing to pledge $112,000 each for the incentive package. Incentive payments are only made if the company adds the jobs.
Founded in 2000, Axium Healthcare Pharmacy Inc. is a nationwide provider of specialty pharmacy services, owned by The Kroger Company. It provides drug therapies and patient support services to treat chronic, genetic, and other complex conditions such as hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, cancer, rheumatoid
arthritis.
The company says the average wage for the 225 new jobs will be $46,877, which is higher than the Seminole average wage of about $40,000.
The news of Axium’s planned expansion follows an announcement that Nephron Pharmaceuticals was cutting 180 jobs at its
Orlando headquarters.
But another drug-related company, Generic Specialties, was awarded incentive money in Osceola County to build a new facility there.
Last year, there were more closings, layoffs and expansions in the area’s pharmaceutical industry.
Coco Key sale
Orlando-based CNL Lifestyle Properties unloaded another asset, the Coco Key hotel at 7400 International Drive, at a loss.
CNL’s Lifestyle fund has been selling off assets for the past year as CNL changes course and seeks new investments.
The buyer is an affiliate of South Florida-based InSite Group, which has acquired other hotels recently, including the B Ocean Resort in Fort Lauderdale last year.
The 393-room Coco Key
hotel sits on 9.5 acres and features a large pool and water recreation area. It has a large interior courtyard and frontage on Interstate 4, was one of the first motels built on International Drive, just north of Sand Lake Road. Coco Key opened soon after Walt Disney World was announced in 1965.
CNL Lifestyle Properties bought it for $19 million in May 2008., and sunk money into a major renovation.
The new sale price, according to county records, is $15.1 million.
InvenTrust buy
A subsidiary of Illinoisbased InvenTrust Properties has paid $34.03 million for Rio Pinar Plaza, a 124,000-square-foot shopping center near Florida Hospital’s East Orlando hospital, according to Orange County property records.
The center is anchored by Publix, Pet Supermarket and Planet Fitness. It includes 16 acres at the southeast corner of Lake Underhill Road and Chickasaw Trail.
County records indicate the seller was a subsidiary of New York-based DRA Advisors, which bought property at the center in 2012 for $17.5 million.
pbrinkmann@tribune.com or 407-420-5660