Will Tampa’s historic Floridan Palace Hotel get a new name?
One of downtown Tampa’s oldest skyscrapers may soon be known under a different name.
The new owner of the Floridan Palace Hotel — South Florida investment firm 1754 Properties, which also owns St. Pete Beach’s TradeWinds Resort — filed an application last month for a historic preservation tax exemption that details some of the renovations to come following the purchase of the property in 2021, city records show.
And one of the biggest changes? Renaming the nearly century-old landmark to Hotel Flor.
Records show the 19-story hotel plans to install 10-foot signs depicting “Hotel Flor” outside its entrance on the ground floor. 1754 Properties and Floridan’s general manager did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Hilton, which the Floridan announced last year would join the hotel chain’s Tapestry Collection, listed the property on its website as Hotel Flor Tampa Downtown. Hotel Flor is set to open Sept. 14, but Hilton isn’t accepting reservations yet. It also mentions a New Orleans, gulf-style restaurant and oyster bar at the site called The Dan.
So what about the iconic red “Hotel Floridan” sign on the rooftop?
That will stay, records show, as it’s deemed a historic fixture of the building.
The Floridan first opened in 1927 and was among Tampa’s first skyscrapers. It was built in the Beaux Arts architectural style, a classical Roman and Greek movement that originated in Paris, with Renaissance Revival details and a decorative edge hiding its flat roof. The Floridan was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The 212-room building on 905 N Florida Ave. has been renovated two times in its history: once in the 1960s, and then in the mid-2000s. The space struggled in the 1960s and 1970s as residents flocked from downtown to the suburbs. The Floridan closed in 1989 because of safety issues and was going to be demolished in 2005, but its former owner Antonios Markopoulos renovated and reopened it in 2012.
Famous guests from the past include Elvis Presley and Charlton Heston. Some conspiracies mention the hotel as the site where Tampa mafia bosses plotted to assassinate John F. Kennedy as a way to allegedly ward off his brother and attorney general Robert Kennedy from prosecuting mafia members. When the site reopened in 2012, it hosted events tied to the Republican National Convention.
1754 Properties bought the Floridan in 2021 for $22 million and the adjoining parking lot for $3.2 million, according to property records. The investment firm announced last year it was spending $25 million on renovations and leasing retail space.
City records also show that the hotel will get more lights along its facade that illuminate the edges. The current gym will be remodeled for retail space, with the fitness center moving to former ballroom space. Inside the main lobby, the hotel will replace its modern lighting for more historically accurate “wagon wheel” chandeliers.
The hotel is located near the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in north downtown Tampa in an area with a growing number of restaurants, attractions and nightlife. The Floridan is the only historic grand hotel in Tampa that’s still in operation, as the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel was converted into the University of Tampa and Henry B. Plant Museum.
