Tampa officials could make a 100-year-old Davis Islands building a landmark with an emergency designation — potentially saving it from the wrecking ball.
The owners of the Mirasol, a hotel-turned-apartment building on Davis Islands, last week sought a demolition permit to tear down the weathered complex. The request came months after the Tampa City Council denied a proposal that would have allowed the owners, Frank and Lindsey Carriera, to turn the building back into a hotel.
But on Monday, city staff applied for a landmark designation — kicking off a process that could spare the century-old slice of Tampa history.
The application will be reviewed by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. According to a memo last week from Susan Johnson-Velez, a senior assistant city attorney, “After a duly noticed public hearing, (the commission) may request City Council to take emergency action to review a threat to the building. Such a request would stay all action to issue a demolition permit for the building until a final determination is made.”
The Carrieras’ proposal to redevelop the Mirasol — and their subsequent request to demolish it — sparked anger on Davis Islands. Hundreds of neighbors showed up to a City Council meeting in January for a five-hour volley of public comment. Some wore stickers that read, “Save our neighborhood.” Others wore shirts that said, “Save the Mirasol.”
The Carrieras said they bought the peach building at 84 Davis Blvd. in 2021 with hopes of restoration. Lindsey Carriera did not immediately respond to two messages seeking comment.
Built as a hotel in the 1920s, the seven-story building on the corner of Davis Boulevard and Adalia Avenue was one of the largest in the downtown island community dreamed up by developer David P. Davis. Financial troubles soon forced its closure, and the building was converted into apartments in the 1960s amid a string of owners. The building has no historic designation.
The Carrieras’ plan would have converted the current 58 apartments into up to 118 hotel rooms and a dozen condominiums with a restaurant, pool and other amenities. Operating the building as apartments was not financially viable, they said.
But dozens of neighbors said they feared the return of a hotel could disrupt the fabric of their daily life. They worried about traffic and parking, noise and construction. More than 250 people signed petitions or wrote letters in opposition.
Council members that month voted 5-2 to block a requested amendment to Tampa’s comprehensive plan — a blueprint for the type of development that can occur around the city. Their vote meant the Mirasol would continue to function as a residential building under its current zoning.
Council chairperson Alan Clendenin, who supported the land-use change request, said, “If it’s not economically viable as an apartment building, it is going to be torn down. It would be a sad day in the city of Tampa if this council allowed that to happen.”