The two Ohio-based development firms planning to build a Cambria Hotel & Suites in Downtown Memphis have purchased the property for the proposed 166-unit hotel.

C&O Memphis LLC, an entity affiliated with Ceres Enterprises LLC and The Orlean Co., purchased the 3.2-acre vacant property on the south side of Union from CCL Label for $3.5 million, according to a Dec. 17 warranty deed.

The two development companies floated plans for the hotel this summer, with renderings showing a four-story brick and glass building close to the street. The development received Memphis City Council approval in November.

The land, which is bounded by Union and Gayoso avenues east of South Fourth Street and south of AutoZone Park, has been vacant since the CCL Label facility was demolished in 2008 – a year after the Framingham, Mass.-based label and packaging solutions provider relocated its local operations to Collierville.

The five sold lots bear the addresses 267 Union, 283 Gayoso, 0 Gayoso and two related parcels at 285 Union. The Shelby County Assessor of Property appraised them at a combined $1.7 million this year.

Maryland-based Choice Hotels International Inc., the parent company of the Cambria Hotels & Suites brand, is listed as the lender in a $3 million mortgage related to the sale.

CBRE represented the buyer in the transaction. Lewis Miller, with CBRE in Atlanta, and Brian Whaley and Stephen Steinbach, CBRE Memphis, represented the buyer.