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Grace, with a wrinkle

The Floridan Hotel begins a comeback, with a concern nearby.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published August 18, 2006

DOWNTOWN

Don't mind the dust, the dirt, the disrepair. The Floridan is still a big, proud, imposing structure - for 40 years, Tampa's tallest - but it has been through a lot the past two decades.

The iconic hotel last housed guests in 1987. It was boarded up soon after, and its main occupants from then on were birds and other wild creatures. Five different development groups took a stab at redeveloping the historic property, but none could make it work.

The Floridan's latest owner, Clearwater developer Antonios Markopoulos, hopes to restore the Floridan to the glory it knew in the first half of the 20th century. For the past year, he has worked to satisfy the city's Architectural Review Commission requirements to begin restoring the property.

Construction crews are ready to begin working on the Floridan in earnest next week, said Lisa Shasteen, an attorney representing the project. If all goes well, a boutique hotel - at least four stars, perhaps even five - will emerge in 12 to 18 months.

But then there's the matter of the neighbors.

At 240 feet, the Floridan was Tampa's tallest building from its 1927 opening to 1966, when it was surpassed by the 280-foot Franklin Exchange Building. Now it faces the prospect of being dwarfed by its northern next-door neighbor on Florida Avenue.

In this case, next door really means next door. The 19-story Floridan is connected to a small post office in the adjacent half-acre lot. After the post office's lease expires in July 2007, a Miami developer who owns the property plans to build a condominium tower and parking garage on the lot at 925 N Florida Ave.

How close the structures will be to the Floridan has yet to be determined, though developer Haim Einhorn said he has agreed to "some egress" to allow the Floridan necessary emergency exits and such.

When he announced Tampa City Lofts in March, Einhorn planned to build one of Tampa's tallest buildings, a 479-foot tower with 250 units. He envisioned 8,500 square feet of retail plus a parking garage with 380 spaces for residents and 50 spaces for retail customers and visitors.

Einhorn said Tuesday that he plans to scale back the designs to some degree. The building will be shorter than the initial proposal, he said, though it's "too early" to know how much.

After meeting with the Floridan team and Wilson Stair, the city's urban design manager, Einhorn said it was clear that his plan wouldn't pass muster.

Just as important, he said, he wants his project to complement the Floridan.

"For the last 25 years in Miami, I've been involved with historic properties," Einhorn said. "We definitely understand the needs of the Floridan and the city with all the different historic issues."

Einhorn, who was part of a group that used to own the Floridan, said he decided to delay petitioning for city approval for a few months because he realized the original plan "was going to leave a bad taste in their mouths."

So his designers are working to put an acceptable plan together before going forward, probably in October, he said.

Einhorn will need the city to sign off on changing the lot's existing zoning, which allows construction of up to 120 feet. Last month, the City Council rejected a plan to build a 423-foot condo tower nearby on N Franklin Street, calling it too large for the area.

Shasteen, who represents the Floridan project, said that while discussions with Einhorn have been friendly, she and Markopoulos - who bought the hotel for $6-million in April - have reason to be concerned.

"This Floridan project is important to everyone in the city of Tampa," she said, "and it would be terrible that after 20 years of having it vacant, you'd kill it by putting something next door."

One concern is that Einhorn's development would entirely block the view of many Floridan guests in north-facing rooms.

Also, Markopoulos plans to build a swimming pool and outdoor leisure area atop a four-story parking garage and ballroom area on the east side of the hotel, next to Einhorn's planned parking garage.

"So then you'd have all the pollution coming in" from the cars next door, Markopoulos said.

Shasteen said Markopoulos took on the restoration because "he loves to take something that's been dead for all these years and bring it back to life." She said Markopoulos estimates the cost of restoring the hotel at $14-million.

The Floridan remained among the area's best accommodations through World War II. Newer suburban hotels became popular in the 1950s, and the hotel became the place to find a clean, cheap room downtown. By the late '60s, it had turned to monthly rentals.

It originally had 426 rooms, more than double the number planned for the renovated Floridan, Shasteen said. It will have 194 standard rooms at 400 square feet, 16 suites and two penthouses.

For the past year, crews have worked to clean the interior and exterior of the building, which is across Cass Street from the federal courthouse. Next week, Shasteen said, the real work begins.

It couldn't come any sooner, Markopoulos said.

"We're trying to create a great experience here," he said. "I love challenges in my life. But you see the potential and you make something new. That's the most fun part."

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 226-3431.

[Last modified August 17, 2006, 10:54:35]