Tower Investments has confirmed that an agreement is in place for Omni Hotels to buy property for the convention center hotel.

"I can confirm there is an agreement between Tower and Omni," Tower senior vice-president Alex Marks said Thursday. 

The property in question is south of the Country Music Hall of Fame between 4th and 5th avenues and the Korean Veterans Boulevard.  

Sources tell NashvillePost.com the total purchase price for the three-acre tract — with 2.5 acres slated for the hotel, already under contract — is between $18 million and $20 million. That works out to $175 to $194 per square foot, compared with the roughly $60 per square foot adjacent landowners received when the property was condemned for the construction of the Music City Center. 

Caryn Kboudi, Omni's vice-president of communications, was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

Omni and Marriott were seen as the front-runners to operate the convention center hotel, and negotiations with Metro officials on the amount of public help available have been ongoing since the Music City Center received its final OK from the Metro Council earlier this year.

"We are aware of the option Omni has placed on the Tower site. As we've confirmed before, Omni is one of the hotel operators that have expressed interest in building the convention center headquarters hotel. However, there is no agreement with Omni to announce. The mayor is committed to finding a hotel deal that is privately owned and operated and is in the best interest of Nashville taxpayers," Mayor's Office spokeswoman Janel Lacy said.