A Bolivian company with its own global chain of water parks paid $20.5 million for the Flamingo Waterpark Resort on Kissimmee U.S. 192 corridor as part of its U.S. market entry.
Padan Aram LLC, a subsidiary of Grupo Sion, acquired the 241-key hotel and resort property from Flamingo Hotel & Resort, LLC. LV Lending, led by Camilo Niño, Ricardo Uribe, and Alen Hernandez, provided $10 million in financing. The property is situated along the U.S. 192, also known as E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, at a junction with Florida’s Turnpike and just east of downtown Kissimmee in Osceola County.
Originally built in 1966, the three-story family-friendly hotel and resort offers spacious family suites and character-themed children’s’ suites along with single accommodations for business travelers. Amenities include an outdoor pool with tiki bar and courtyard, business center, meeting rooms, market, restaurant, arcade, kid zone and playgrounds. A state-of-the-art water park adds to the fun with a 30-foot tower water slide, three additional water slides, lazy river, splash pad, lounge pool, and heated spa.
Mario Franklin Chávez Méndez is President and Founder of Sion International Group, a global real estate development firm with approximately $231.6 million in assets and more than 30 real estate projects in its portfolio. Based in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Grupo Sion has 15 years of experience in the structuring of real estate businesses, management and project management.
The firm specializes in aquatic and ecological complexes, including one of the largest water parks in Bolivia. Franklin Chavez created the chain of Kalomai water parks with locations in Bolivia, Mexico and Brazil, which has become one of the largest water park brands in Latin America.
The seller was a South Florida development group that had owned the property since 2014, when they bought it for $9 million. In 2016, they paid another $2 million for an abandoned par 3 golf course adjacent to the hotel, expanding their holdings of undeveloped land around the hotel to around 30 acres.
The owners submitted plans for property calling for a 31,000-square-foot commercial center on U.S. 192 called Flamingo Pointe. They envisioned a new apartment complex on the former golf course. The preliminary subdivision plan was never approved. A spokeswoman for LV Lending said the Grupo Scion deal only included the hotel, not the undeveloped land.
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