DAVIS ISLANDS, Fla. — A century-old building on Davis Islands could soon be demolished.
D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co., Inc., a demolition firm, filed a demolition permit on behalf of the owners of The Mirasol Apartments.
In January, Frank and Lindsey Carriera, the owners of the Mirasol, asked Tampa City Council to allow them to turn the apartments into a hotel.
It was discussed at a Tampa City Council meeting. Tampa City Council denied the land use request.
Frank Carriera spoke at the council meeting on January 15, 2026.
"Our goal is not maximizing development. Our goal is preservation, and our vision is to return the Mirasol to its original purpose as a small upscale boutique hotel respectfully operated and reopened to the community. The Mirasol was originally built as a hotel and reflected the charm," said owner Frank Carriera.
He told council that preserving a historic building costs a lot more than building something new.
"That is exactly why so many historic homes were demolished after the 2024 storms. It simply didn't make sense for those homeowners to hold on any more," he said.
In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused significant damage to the century-old building.
It first opened in 1926 as a hotel offering luxurious rooms and high-end social and dining amenities for the Davis Islands community.
Rodney Kite-Powell is a historian at the Tampa Bay History Center.
"The Mirasol is really a classic of that Florida, 1920s land boom, Mediterranean revival architecture. You know, the stucco walls, the archways...it was opened originally with a restaurant, and of course it has the marina in the back that was also part of the original design," said Kite-Powell.
Kite-Powell said during the Great Depression, hotels turned into apartment buildings.
"By the late 1920s, so many of these hotels turned into apartment buildings because the need for hotel rooms had dropped, but the need for housing certainly had not dropped," he said.
The building is not historically designated. The City of Tampa has 28 days to decide whether this would go before its Historic Preservation Commission. City officials say if the Mirasol does not meet criteria for historical designation, the demolition request will be approved. If the board votes that it does meet criteria, it goes to the city council for a vote.
Tampa Bay 28 reached out to the owners of the Mirasol and asked about future plans.
The owners did not want to make any comments at this time.
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