Cushman & Wakefield announced that the commercial real estate services firm has arranged the $7.1 million sale of Ambassador Hotel, a 155-room building on 2.5 acres located at 929 W Colonial Dr. The hotel was built in 1958 and will be redeveloped into 150 affordable low-income apartments.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Glen Jaffee represented the seller and procured the buyer for the off-market transaction. The hotel was sold by Sammy Investments Orlando and acquired by Sarasota-based One Stop Housing.
“Affordable housing is a significant problem in Central Florida, and I wanted to figure out a way to help. There were no plans for the Ambassador Hotel to be sold, but after reaching out to the owner, the stars seemed to align,” said Jaffee, Director at Cushman & Wakefield in a statement. “After also contacting the City of Orlando and the County about the opportunity to support new workforce housing which the area critically needs, with their collective support, we were able to make the transaction work.”
One Stop Housing will redevelop the hotel into a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments. Once complete, the community will become the eighth hotel property One Stop Housing has successfully converted into affordable housing. The company focuses on offering functional and cost-effective workforce housing, many with utilities included, to the public throughout Florida and Tennessee.
“We are excited to bring an additional 150 workforce housing units to Central Florida where it is so desperately needed. This development is a great example of how Private and Public partnerships can work together to create results that will greatly benefit the community. I commend Glen Jaffee for having the insight and understanding to bring the parties together,” added Mark Vengroff, Managing Partner at One Stop Housing.
The Orlando City Council approved zoning for the Ambassador Hotel to be redeveloped into an affordable housing community in late July. Construction is set to begin this year with no projected delivery date.
“The transition of the blighted Ambassador Hotel into workforce housing is a unique opportunity to quickly bring desperately needed affordable housing into our community,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The new housing will not only help us continue to address the housing challenges in our community, but also brings added stability and economic vitality to the area.”
