ORLANDO, Fla. — A high rise in downtown Orlando worth $53 million was sold Monday for half-price.
The Vue at Lake Eola has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and was sold Monday to the highest bidder for $25.9 million. The property now belongs to Condo Developer, LLC.
The 36 story building has 165 empty condos out of 375, but its previous owner said Monday's sale should help investors feel better about the building's future. "Now somebody who has $26 million to spend is going to be investing in there and making sure all of the amenities are kept up," said Scott Shuker, attorney for The Vue at Lake Eola.
The Vue said the empty units, plus the building's utilities, combined with other monthly bills cost the company $120,000 a month.
Downtown realtors said the building's sale is a good sign, because the banks didn't take it over, and nine major companies competed to buy it. "It's great in downtown that we have some movement going on…if we can get the financing in place, the prices where it should be, it's affordable again," said Dave Fontana, who is a realtor.