Omni Jacksonville Corp. sold the Omni Jacksonville Hotel Downtown to a company whose address is in Jackson, Wyoming, for $35.1 million.
The Omni Jacksonville at 245 Water St. opened in October 1987. It has 354 rooms and suites.
The sale represents a price of $99,152 per room.
LR Jax LLC bought the property Feb. 25. The deed, recorded Feb. 26, was signed by Michael G. Smith, executive vice president of Dallas-based Omni Jacksonville Corp.
LR Jax LLC’s Wyoming address is the same as Jackson Hole Trust Co.
The managers are Willow Lake Holdings Inc., LR Intermediate LLC, Ian Livingstone and Desmond Taljaard, also at that address.
Taljaard has been managing director of hotels at London & Regional Properties.
LR Jax LLC was registered with the state Feb. 12. Robert Mautner, president of Willow Lake Holdings Inc., signed the document. He is director, attorney and vice president of Jackson Hole Trust Co.
A representative of the buyers’ group could not be reached for comment.
Peter Strebel, president of Omni Hotels & Resorts, issued a statement.
“In August 2020, we announced our intent to pursue the sale of five hotels that no longer align with the strategic direction of Omni Hotels & Resorts.
“Today, we are happy to confirm the sale of the following hotels – Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West, Omni Houston Hotel at Westside, Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade, Omni Jacksonville Hotel and Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark.
“The sale closed on February 25, 2021 and the new owner will transition the hotels out of the Omni system later this year.”
He said his group is grateful to the Omni leaders and associates who made the five hotels successful “and look forward to reinvesting these funds into the future of our brand.”
Duval County Property Appraiser records show that the hotel, on just over an acre, has an assessed value of $38.78 million.
The Omni Jacksonville closed for about two months when the pandemic struck in March 2020.
“Reinvesting capital into the convention center and resort market space allows us to grow our business and play to our strengths,” Strebel said in August.
Omni Hotels & Resorts says it owns and operates 60 luxury hotels and resorts in North America and is the official hotel of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
The chain has been opening new hotels in the past decade. It opened in Dallas in 2011, Nashville in 2013, Louisville in 2018 and plans openings in Oklahoma City and Boston in 2021.
Associate Editor Max Marbut contributed to this report.