Le Meridien is formally–finally–open. The brief, humidity-defying ribbon-cutting is now history. No longer a federal courthouse and no longer a monument to mold, it is now an uber cool, high-end, boutique hotel.
Take a bow, Gary Prosterman, the preservation-oriented owner of Memphis-based Development Services Group, and proactive Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. History has been preserved, an icon transformed and no city money was involved in the $27 million, 16-month project.
The impressively repurposed property is not a perfect marriage of the old and new. A Corinthian column and a flat-screen TV will never be complementary. More historical, fewer generic photos would be better. But Beaux Arts and neoclassical elements are no longer a forlorn reminder of what once was. They are now emblematic of downtown’s revitalization. The front office manager, Dan Martin, called Le Meridien “a hotel for the culturally minded.”
City Hall loves it, and DSG’s Prosterman is confident the market will love it too, even as other properties are coming on line or are planned.
“We’re enthusiastic about Tampa,” said Prosterman. “We look at this market as a rising tide. “There’s room for competition. We, of course, welcome everybody, but, yes, the business traveler is an especially important niche for us.”
The rates right now–out of season–are about $170 a night.