May 15–Orlando businessman Nik Patel’s five hotels, including the former Sheraton Orlando and a Doubletree by Hilton, are about to be auctioned off.
The online real-estate brokerage Auction.com LLC has scheduled auctions July 20-22 for a portfolio of three Orlando hotels: the former Sheraton, which is next to the site of the now-demolished Amway Arena; the Doubletree by Hilton at the University of Central Florida; and the Crowne Plaza near the entrance to Lake Buena Vista Resort Village.
“I think each of these assets is well-located in its respective neighborhood,” said Paul Sexton, vice president of HREC Investment Advisors.
Patel was arrested in October on federal charges of fraudulently selling $150 million in loans to Milwaukee-based finance company Pennant Management. He was known for purchasing and renovating hotel properties in Orlando and elsewhere.
Details of the five properties to be auctioned include:
–The DoubleTree byHilton Orlando East, a 246-room full-service hotel at 12125 High Tech Ave., near the University of Central Florida.
–The former Sheraton, with 290 rooms at 400 W. Livingston St., Orlando.
–The Crowne Plaza, a 246-room full-service hotel at 12490 Apopka-Vineland Road,Orlando.
–A 148-room full-service hotel at 50 Kenny Place inSaddle Brook, N.J.
–A 272-room full-service hotel at 500 Hamilton Blvd. in Peoria, Ill.
In Orlando, demand for rooms at the former Sheraton softened with the relocation of the Orlando Magic basketball games to a new center on Church Street. Sexton said it is still well-located as work starts on the Creative Village multiuse project where the Amway Arena had been.
mshanklin@tribune.com or 407-420-5538
