Don Vicente de Ybor to convert hotel rooms into apartments
By Eric Snider
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 29, 2015

The 16 quaint hotel rooms in the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn are soon to become apartments.

Following a Tuesday report in the Tampa Bay Business Journal about the Don Vicente closing in May, Darryl Shaw, who owns the building, revealed his plans going forward.

"It's really too small for a hotel,” Shaw said Wednesday. "The Don Vicente had primarily become an event space, and the hotel rooms became secondary. We think the best use is to turn them into residential.”

Shaw purchased the building last year from owner/operator Jack Shiver, then leased it back to him. That lease ends in May, and the hotel should shut down in the latter half of the month.

Shaw said he expected the conversion to take place quickly, although he did not speculate on when rentals would be available. The existing hotel rooms have the necessary amenities to become studio apartments, and he has no plans at the moment to combine units.

"What we have to do is fairly minor, mostly cosmetic,” Shaw explained.

He would like to see the Don Vicente's beautifully restored bottom floor and its basement draw interest from restaurant operators and businesses seeking office space.

Shaw, the CEO of BluePearl Veterinary clinics, has become a player in Ybor City of late. Last year, he acquired an old cigar factory with plans to turn it into an apartment building. In February, the Hillsborough County Commission awarded the project a $250,000 historic preservation grant.

"It's a long-term perspective,” he explained. "Ybor used to thrive as a place where people of varying cultures, nationalities and backgrounds lived, worked and got their entertainment. We'd like to see that return to Ybor City. A lot of urban centers around the country are seeing younger people return to places like Ybor.”

Eric Snider is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.