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American investors have expressed interest in leasing and operating the Ledra Palace Hotel in the buffer zone in Nicosia, Archbishop Chrysostomos has revealed.

The Cyprus Mail reports that the Archbishop has confirmed that Ledra Palace Hotel – in which the Church has a majority stake – is one of a number of potential investments being explored by American business professionals

Chrysostomos said that during the course of meetings here with American professionals last week – where the latter expressed interest in purchasing coastal land tracts owned by the Church with a view to building hotels – the possibility of investing in Ledra Palace was also discussed.

Chrysostomos stressed that the Church has no intention of selling its stake in the historic hotel, which has become a Nicosia landmark.

Rather, the hotel would be leased long-term, with the investors putting up the money to renovate it. The cost of renovation has been estimated at €10 million to €15 million, the top cleric said. Alternatively, the Church and the foreign investors could run the hotel as a joint venture.

Chrysostomos said the Church’s aim is to prevent the now decrepit building from falling into ruin.

“We want to maintain it so that it can operate as soon as possible,” he added.

The Ledra Palace was, up until 1974, one of the largest and most glamorous hotels of the capital. It was designed by the German-Jewish architect Benjamin Günsberg. It originally had 94 bedrooms and 150 beds, officially rated as deluxe.