Hoy newspaper announced today that the Central Bank sold the Hotel Hispaniola for US$16.5 million (RD$275 million) to Palmeras Dominicanas, a Dominican company presided by engineer Jose Miguel Neder, and with ties to Minister of Public Works, Miguel Vargas Maldonado, as per the newspaper. The transaction took place a month ago. The newspaper reports that the operator of the hotel, Corporacion de Hoteles, an affiliate of the Central Romana Corporation, did not object the sale. Corporación de Hoteles had a 50 years lease on the property, of which it still had 25 years to go. As reported in Hoy, the hotel chain renounces its right to the pending 25 years of the contract signed with the government. The buyers purchased a 34,804 square meter lot, and a five-floor edifice at the prime location of Av. Abraham Lincoln and Av. Independencia. The hotel was built in 1955 by Dictator Trujillo to lodge tourists expected for the international fair that would commemorate his 25 years in power. It opened as Hotel La Paz, becoming the Hotel Hispaniola when it was taken over by the Corporacion Hotelera. Corporación Hotelera is the owner and operator of the Hotel Santo Domingo, across the street. The Corporacion Hotelera never showed an interest in purchasing the hotel. The offer of US$16.5 million was the highest received by the Monetary Board for the property, as per the news report. (27 March 2001)
