A Tru hotel concept near SeaWorld has reached another stage: The land has been purchased.Skorman Development Corp. purchased 10 acres of land that will house the future hotel that has been in the mix since December. The land was purchased for $5.5 million from Orlando Westwood Loan Associates, and Skorman then sold a portion of the land for the same amount to Miami-based Epelboim Development Group, the developer of the hotel, according to public documents.The land purchased is two parcel at 6461 Westwood Blvd. and another adjacent to it. The Tru by Hilton brand is new for the hotel chain, with Hilton's website currently advertising only two locations, in Oklahoma and Tennessee.Hooman Hamzehloui, founder of Masters Realty, who represented Skorman, said 4.74 acres of the overall 10 acres was sold to Epelboim for $5.5 million. He said an additional 1 acre of adjacent land was purchased by Skorman for $675,000, but county records have not yet reported that deal.Hamzehloui said the areas around the Orange County Convention Center are gaining interest including a future Marriott hotel project that's been in the works on a 20-acre site nearby that he helped sell for $11.5 million to DCS Real Estate last year — the developers of the new J.W. Marriott Bonnet Creek near Disney.Epelboim Development Group and Dunedin-based DLW Architects are the respective developer and architect on the project.Another Tru hotel concept also has been in the works in Sanford, which will have 100 rooms and shares a similar design.Industry standards show the hotel could cost more than $25 million, depending on the amenities, and create more than 100 permanent jobs.
By Richard Bilbao – Digital Producer/Senior Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal
Article Published Aug 3, 2017
