Forum hotel sold to Richard Lake and partners
Published:Wednesday | January 29, 2014 | 12:00 AM
The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has sold the Forum Hotel for $350 million to Portmore Marine Developments Limited, a newly incorporated company in which Richard Lake is a shareholder.
Forum is a 200-room hotel located on 6.73 hectares of land in Portmore. The property also has 57 self-contained two-bedroom cottages with carports.
It was built in 1973, but closed down 33 years ago and was subsequently leased to several organisations. The property has been vacant for many years.
Portmore Marine was incorporated in November 2013 with one million shares. Its shareholders include a Kingston-based company called Island Resources Limited with 549,999 shares, Richard Lake, Woodbine Burton and Hugh Burton.
Efforts to reach the shareholders were unsuccessful.
The UDC said Tuesday that the broad vision for redevelopment of the property includes its restoration as a hotel; refurbishing of the cottages as independent units; and upgrading of the fishing beach into a marina entertainment complex.