Tampa City Council denies land‑use change for historic Mirasol after hours of public testimony

Tampa City Council voted 5–2 to deny a proposed comprehensive‑plan amendment that would have allowed hotel and broader commercial uses for the historic Mirasol/Marisol building on Davis Islands, after a packed hearing that stretched into the early morning.

Planning staff had recommended denial, and the Planning Commission unanimously found the privately initiated amendment (TACPA 24‑18) inconsistent with the Tampa Comprehensive Plan. City planning staff told the council the site sits inside the Coastal High Hazard Area and that the proposed Community Mixed Use‑35 designation could materially increase building mass and the potential residential intensity using a floor‑area‑ratio method.

The amendment’s proponent, attorney Tyler Hudson, and owners Frank and Lindsey Carriero told council the building was purpose‑built as a hotel in 1926 and that converting it back to hotel use is the only financially viable path to preserve the century‑old structure. “The hotel use is what gives this building a chance to have a 200‑year anniversary,” Hudson said during his presentation, describing a history of…