The owners of the Mirasol, a century-old apartment building on Davis Islands, have filed an application to demolish the 56,507-square-foot structure, according to a report from Fox 13 Tampa Bay reporter Jennifer Kveglis. The filing comes less than a year after Tampa City Council rejected the owners' bid to convert the building into a boutique hotel, leaving the fate of its 58 residential units once again uncertain.
The application was first reported by Tampa Bay Business and Wealth, which notes that the filing does not say what the owners plan to do with the property afterward, whether demolition is a final decision, what would happen to current residents, or when any work might begin. Fox 13 Tampa Bay, which first broke the story in a video report, has covered the building's saga since the hotel proposal first emerged.
A Mediterranean Revival Icon on Shaky Ground
The Mirasol sits at 84 Davis Blvd., according to the Tampa Bay Times, and was among the very first structures built on Davis Islands. It is currently a 58-unit upscale apartment building, per Fox 13 Tampa Bay's earlier reporting. Accounts of its origin vary slightly: Tampa Bay Business and Wealth describes it as a 1926 Mediterranean Revival hotel converted to apartments in the 1960s, while a Marcus & Millichap release puts construction in 1925 and the conversion in 1962. Tampa Magazines, meanwhile, states the building opened as a hotel in late April 1926.
The ownership history carries its own discrepancies. Tampa Bay Business and Wealth reports that Frank and Lindsey Carriera, along with a small group of investors, bought the Mirasol for $20 million in 2021, while a Marcus & Millichap press release states the property sold for $10,375,000, or roughly $180,000 per unit. The two accounts have not been reconciled.
Hurricane Damage Set the Stage
Hurricanes Helene and Milton flooded the building's basement and damaged its electrical systems, elevators, common areas and parking facilities during the 2024 storm season, according to Fox 13 Tampa Bay. The Mirasol carries no local historic designation, the station notes, which left the building without the protections such status might afford as the owners weighed their options. Tampa Bay Business and Wealth reports the owners spent more than two years trying to make restoration work before ultimately filing to demolish.
The Boutique Hotel Plan That Council Rejected
Before turning to demolition, the owners had proposed restoring the Mirasol as a roughly 110- to 118-room boutique hotel with new wings added to the historic structure, per Tampa Bay Business and Wealth. Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported the plan called for up to 118 hotel rooms, 12 condominiums, valet service, additional parking, a restaurant, a coffee bar and a penthouse sky garden. Owners said they had already scaled the project back by 37%, cutting roughly 30,000 square feet from the original proposal in response to community feedback.
Supporters argued the hotel conversion would let the property pursue historic designation and unlock reinvestment after years of deferred maintenance, according to Tampa Bay Business and Wealth. But the plan drew fierce pushback at a public hearing on Jan. 15, where more than 100 residents, business owners and community stakeholders addressed the council over roughly 5.5 hours. Speakers were divided over whether a hotel conversion would actually help preserve the 100-year-old structure, Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported, with some residents raising concerns about the scope of the redevelopment and its effect on neighborhood traffic.
Council ultimately voted down the rezoning, leaving the Mirasol's residential status intact and its long-term future unresolved. Now, with a demolition application on file and no stated plan for what comes next, the building that has anchored the Davis Islands landscape for a century faces its most uncertain chapter yet.
