Continental Development Corp (大陸建設) yesterday signed a deal with Formosan Rubber Group Inc (厚生公司) and Ambassador Hotels and Restaurants Ltd (國賓大飯店) to jointly repurpose the Ambassador Hotel Kaohsiung (高雄國賓飯店).
The developer and rubber product maker agreed to buy 20 percent and 30 percent of the plot from the hospitality provider respectively. They plan on turning the 40-year-old property into a mixed-use complex that features a hotel and serviced apartment units.
Ambassador Kaohsiung sits on a 2,026 ping (6,698m2) plot that would have favorable floor area ratios like other urban renewal projects, the companies said.
Photo courtesy of Continental Holdings Corp
Ambassador Hotels said it sold the land to Continental Development and Formosa Rubber for NT$2.4 billion (US$86.39 million) and would be able to divide 37 percent of the total floor area between the companies upon the project’s completion.
The government has encouraged the regeneration of old buildings, the hotel group said, adding that it believes it is wise to jump on the bandwagon and revitalize longstanding assets.
Urban hotels nationwide have also taken a hard hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
Continental Development said it would take charge of the project’s planning, construction and marketing, and later gain 63 percent of the floor space.
The Taipei-based developer recently sold a nearby luxury apartment complex, so it is confident about property development in the southern port city, it said, adding that the new project could hit the market two to three years from now.
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