Hotels have long been a part of this picturesque piece of land fronting the Hillsborough River. The 3-story Majestic Hotel, part of a national chain, opened here in 1916 across the new quarter-million-dollar Lafayette bridge from the lavish Tampa Bay Hotel. In 1921, Ben Bostain- operator of several cafeterias and a bakery- bought it from Citizens Bank, which had obtained it in foreclosure, with the intention of expanding it and changing the name to Bostain Hotel. In 1928, a worker’s torch set the building ablaze in the middle of remodeling, and it was a total loss. In 1929, the Lafayette Hotel rose from the ashes. Bostain went on to become the state hotel commissioner.

The Lafayette survived until 1963 when it was razed, and the land leased for a new 8-story, 80,000 square-foot Mercantile Bank building costing an estimated $ 1 million with anchor tenant International Business Machines (IBM) using it for their regional headquarters. The modern architectural design brought a new look to the riverfront. In 1973, Kearney Chemical Co. bought the building from First Equity Financial Corp in a distress sale. In 1978, Chevron Chemical took ownership when Kearney filed for reorganization, owing Chevron nearly $3 million. IBM was still a major tenant but was planning to relocate to their new $3.5 million regional offices on Buffalo Avenue (now MLK Blvd.), leaving the building nearly vacant. They moved in 1979.  After sitting vacant for years, hotel developer Liberty Group teamed up with Convergent Capital Partners in 2012 and planned the boutique hotel chain Aloft, a sub-brand of Starwood. They did a $20-million facelift to the structure that opened in 2014, returning to its hotel roots from long ago.  

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved