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US: Convergent Capital Partners has bought the Mercantile Bank building and plans to convert it in to a boutique hotel
The Tampa private equity firm paid $2 million for the eight-storey former office building on the the eastern shore of the Hillsborough River, and plans to spend a further $7 million on the conversion which will include new landscaping, and a bar and lounge overlooking the University of Tampa’s minarets.
Partner Nik Sachdev said: “We want this to have an upscale feel for the gateway to the city, with that sleek, modern style, rather than the stuffiness you feel at modern hotels.”
The hotel will have up to 120 rooms and open next October. Its name and operators are yet to be confirmed.
Convergent Capital Partners specializes in “opportunistic real estate,” and has bought $350 million in distressed properties and unpaid loans across Florida.
Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn said the building is “butt ugly” but that “money cures a lot of ills. The view alone and the proximity to the Riverwalk, I think, makes it a very valuable piece of property.”
www.convergentcap.com
