Caspers Company buys The Current Hotel on Rocky Point
By Alexis Muellner
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 29, 2021

Current Rocky Point LLC, a special purpose entity affiliated with Tampa-based Caspers Company, has purchased The Current hotel on Rocky Point for $85 million.

Construction of The Current Hotel, an Autograph Collection hotel by Marriott, was completed in 2019. The property includes 180 rooms, two restaurants – Julian Restaurant and Rox Rooftop Bar, Tampa’s highest rooftop bar – and a lobby bar. It also features waterfront views from every guest room, a private beach, and an infinity pool.

Caspers Company is a third-generation family-owned business run by Blake Casper, along with his sister Allison Casper Adams and her husband, Robby Adams.

This marks the first hotel acquisition for the Casper family, which owns 60 McDonald’s franchises, as well as Tampa Bay restaurant and business concepts: Oxford Exchange, Oxford Design Studio, The Library, Caspers Service Company and most recently, a private social club The Stovall House.

"We're bullish on Florida and Tampa, particularly and we think it's a great investment," Allison Casper Adams told the Business Journal. "Obviously, all of our businesses here have been very successful and we just believe in the city and we think that this area is stunning."

The Caspers already had a presence in the hotel. It includes Curated by Oxford Exchange, a boutique that takes the place of a typical hotel gift shop.

“This is a big jump from a little boutique in the hotel,” Adams said.

Stan Lifsey developed the 10-story hotel at 2545 N Rocky Point Dr. in a partnership between the Lifsey and Costis families and Pinnacle Hotel Management, which will continue to operate the property.

Adams said she and her brother are good friends with the Lifseys and have always been big fans of the property, and learned it was for sale.

“The Current Hotel combines beautiful design, the best views of Tampa Bay, with outstanding hospitality,” said Blake Casper in a prepared statement.

There is floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the hotel. The rooftop lounge showcases a panorama of downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg, air traffic at Tampa International Airport and the Howard Frankland Bridge on Interstate 275.

Dave Weymer, Michael Weinberg, Preston Reid and Wyatt Krapf of Berkadia Hotels & Hospitality represented the seller, Rocky Point Holdings LLC, in the transaction.

American Momentum Bank is providing part of the financing with a $55 million loan and Valley National Bank is another banking partner in the transaction.

“The Caspers are a venerable family in this community and continue to introduce unique, upscale concepts to Tampa Bay,” said Porter Smith, Tampa Bay market president of American Momentum Bank in a statement.

American Momentum Bank has been involved with the hotel project since its inception. The bank helped fund development of the property with a construction loan that closed in 2017.

Marriott International Inc.'s (NASDAQ: MAR) Autograph Collection flag combines the eclectic feel of a boutique hotel with the perks of Marriott's rewards program.

Adams said there are plans to eventually make some changes at the property, likely a new concept in food and beverage but those are not immediate.

"Right now we think it's perfect the way it is," she said.