Swedish investor Par Sanda shells out to save hotels from foreclosure

Swedish investor Par Sanda, an active Fort Lauderdale developer, paid $4.9 million for three hotels there, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

A Sanda-affiliated LLC named Kathy is Great acquired the properties after the lender Iberiabank won a judgment in March against the former owner Sable Resorts and managing member Lawrence A. Duprey, slating four properties for auction.

The LLC acquired the Martindale, an 11,453-square-foot Art Deco resort; the Seaside Motel, a 8,852-square-foot resort; and the Sandy Shores, a 6,064-square-foot motel. Sable Resorts retained ownership of the Front Hotel and Apartments, a 7,329-square-foot complex.

Sanda wants to convert the run-down properties into a European-style village of condos and hotels, project manager Karen Johnson told the Journal.

Sanda started buying up properties – including boarded-up buildings – in 2010 with plans to convert them into trendy apartments and hotels. [South Florida Business Journal] —Emily Schmall