Pub Owner Planning Hotel In Parking Lot

[bobliocatt]

By RANDY DIAMOND

[email protected]

TAMPA - The owner of a popular Tampa tavern, Four Green Fields, plans to get into the hotel business, proposing a $10 million, eight-story facility nearby.

The proposed hotel must be approved by the Tampa City Council, which has set a public hearing on March 31 at 6 p.m.

Colin Breen's plan calls for a four-story parking garage topped by four floors of hotel rooms on the site of the tavern's parking lot at Platt and Plant streets.

Breen said he is negotiating with several major chains to run the planned 121-room hotel, but he wouldn't name them. He said the project needs city council approval before an agreement with a chain can be reached.

The hotel would aim for an audience looking for the personalized service that can be found in a smaller hotel, Breen said. He said its location on the fringes of south Tampa and Hyde Park and just across the Hillsborough River from downtown should draw a mix of guests.

Breen said he is considering an Irish atmosphere, but the full pub menu of Four Green Fields may be missing. The hotel would offer only limited meal service, he said.

Steve Michelini, a consultant hired by Breen, said the hotel hopes to capitalize on guests who need to do business downtown but don't want to stay there.

Reporter Randy Diamond can be reached at (813) 259-8144.

This story can be found at: http://tampatrib.com/businessnews/MGBFUFO5H6E.html