A $45-million hotel with ritzy restaurant is rising next to International Plaza.
By MICHAEL CANNING and AMY SCHERZER
Published April 30, 2004
So you've got a major international airport on one side and a new mall on the other. What do you put in between?
A hotel, if you're Marriott.
The Renaissance Tampa Hotel International Plaza is the latest fixture on the Westshore Business District skyline. By Aug. 2, crews will remove the scaffolding and put on the finishing touches for the eight-story hotel's opening, said general manager Jim Bartholomay.
CNL Hospitality Corp. of Orlando is developing the 293-room, $45-million hotel next to Bay Street, International Plaza's outdoor restaurant and shopping village. The Mediterranean-style structure will be flanked by two towers, the tallest reaching 177 feet and commanding a good view of Tampa International Airport's east-west runway.
The Renaissance Tampa's primary feature will be its main restaurant, the Pelagia Trattoria. Headed by chef Fabrizio Schenardi, it will seat 100 and offer Spanish, French and Italian Mediterranean cuisine with some Asian influences. The restaurant will have an entrance on Bay Street. Gabriella's and the Olive Bar will offer more casual dining in the lobby area.
The hotel will also offer 12,500 square feet of meeting space, 7,800 of that contained in the Grand Ballroom one story above the Pelagia Trattoria. A 4,300-square-foot landscaped courtyard will be available for outdoor events. There will also be an outdoor pool, 24-hour fitness center, concierge level, guest laundry, activities and tour desk, and valet service.
In keeping with the Mediterranean muse, the hotel's decor will feature mosaic tile work, iron trim, and vivid blue, yellow, orange and red colors.
Marriott International will manage the hotel under its Renaissance brand, which includes the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg.
PR FIRM MOVES TO CHANNEL DISTRICT: The rapidly transforming Channel District doesn't necessarily need more good PR. But Jane Bokun is quick to offer some when asked why she chose to locate her new public relations firm in the once-industrial neighborhood.
"I felt it was an up-and-coming entertainment district," she said. "In public relations, it's very important to be where the action is."
Jane Bokun Public Relations opened March 27 inside the Artists Unlimited building at 223 N 12th St.
Bokun shares the space with Tangerine Media, a Web site and graphic design company that provides graphics for Bokun's clients. The majority are local real estate and small manufacturing businesses, she said.
Bokun, a native of Chicago, has a background in journalism. She was a financial reporter for Shearson Lehman in Chicago before moving to the bay area in the late 1980s. She reported for the Clearwater Sun before its 1990 demise and freelanced for the St. Petersburg Times for several years. She currently freelances for the Tampa Tribune.
READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Davis Islands Community News and Harbour Island News have a new owner.
Davis Islands community activist Lee Medart recently assumed ownership of the monthly neighborhood papers from founder R.J. Siviur. Siviur gave the papers to Medart. Medart stepped up when she learned that Siviur, who is retiring, was going to shut down the papers.
"I can't stand thinking about losing this community voice," she said, referring to the Davis Islands paper, which she frequently wrote stories for.
The Davis Islands Community News hasn't missed an issue, but the Harbour Island News last hit the streets in March and is on hold indefinitely. Siviur said he advised Medart against resurrecting it.
"There isn't any community spirit (on Harbour Island)," he said. "These young yuppies come, and many are just ... looking for something else. They may be transferred to Peoria next month, so many are renting."
Medart hasn't decided what to do with the Harbour Island paper. She's considering combining the papers and expanding coverage to include Old Hyde Park. Such a paper might be dubbed 33606, the area's ZIP code. Medart, who leads the Davis Islands Neighborhood Planning Task Force, said she'll decide by June or July.
As for Siviur, he's preparing to move to Lexington, Va., where he'll start a garden and read books. "The Shenandoah Valley is just spectacular," he said.
The St. Petersburg resident, who has a background in trade promoting, also founded other community newspapers in Tierra Verde, Isla del Sol, Feather Sound and Brandon.
- Information from Times files was used in this report. Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com
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