Construction in full swing in converting Ambassador Hotel to affordable apartments

Converting the Ambassador Hotel into affordable Palm Gardens Apartments in Orlando is underway, with the delivery of the first of 150 low-priced units on West Colonial Drive expected early next year, officials said Tuesday.

Crews are working on renovations at the decades-old hotel – previously known for drug activity and prostitution – to turn it into mostly studio apartments, expected to rent for $750 per month including utilities. The first batch of 96 units is due to be move-in ready in February, with the remaining rooms slated to be ready at the end of 2024.

“Historically this has been a pretty tough corner for us in terms of crime and security,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said of the location of the former hotel. “We were looking at different opportunities to do something like this. The Ambassador has been a target for the city of Orlando for some time.”

Dyer toured the renovations Tuesday with City Commissioners Robert Stuart and Regina Hill, where crews had many units stripped down to the studs, ready for drywall, plumbing, flooring and electrical work to come.

The conversion is expected to be about a $15 million job for One Stop Housing, which also received about $4 million in city funding through the Accelerate Orlando fund, created by the American Rescue Plan. Accelerate Orlando used the city’s $58 million federal allotment to fund various affordable housing and homelessness initiatives.

Along with the city’s investment comes a 30-year affordability period, where rent increases are restricted to those set by the Florida Housing Finance Corp.

Mark Vengroff, the CEO of First Step Housing, said already the property has added lighting, surveillance cameras and on-site security.

Stuart said the former hotel was a frequent stop for law enforcement, which has been drastically reduced since the sale to One Stop Housing last year.

“We went from about 700 calls in six months on this property with basically the same number of people living here. … In the last six months there’s been less than 60 calls,” he said.

Palm Gardens Apartments sits on West Colonial Drive at Westmoreland Drive, amid a stretch of motels, convenience stores, law offices and other businesses. The city hopes the conversion spurs more interest in development in the area.

Some residents who formally lived week to week at the Ambassador Hotel stayed to rent lightly renovated units at Palm Gardens for $650 per month, and in February will get to move into the remodeled ones with a $750 monthly rent.

According to Rent.com, a typical studio in Orlando goes for about $1,669.

The units expected to be ready in February are fully leased and are reserved for households making at or less than 80% of the Area Median Income, which is $80,100 in Orange County, with 15 set aside for permanent supportive housing, usually for people who were previously unsheltered.

“It has enhanced the quality of the surrounding neighborhoods,” Hill said. “You can’t find a one-bedroom, from the studs up —everything is going to be brand new here— for $750 anywhere in Central Florida pretty much.”