Marriott 'Tribute' hotel planned for St. Petersburg's Edge District

ST. PETERSBURG — St. Petersburg's edgy Edge District is getting its first new hotel, a Marriott-managed lodging that will be a throwback to Florida of the 1950s and '60s.

City permitting is underway for the 11-story hotel that will rise on what is now a parking lot on the southeast corner of First Avenue N and 11th Street. Construction is expected to begin by year's end, said developer Jonathan Daou, who owns the site and is working with Michigan-based DevMar Development.

The hotel will be part of Marriott's Tribute Collection, a boutique brand that is managed by the giant hotel company but that allows for customization.

"Nowhere will it be very evident it's Marriott,'' Daou said Monday. "The whole hotel is going to be very much a local hotel. The advantage is that we can tap into Marriott's business travelers, its booking engine and rewards system. That's a very valuable thing that helps keep occupancy high.''

The hotel, which has not yet been named, will have about 140 rooms, a restaurant and a rooftop pool. "It's going to have a mid-century modern design. There will be terrazzo floors and mid-century furniture,'' Daou said.

Daou bought the lot several years ago as the Edge District — bounded by 16th and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets and First avenues North and South — began its transformation from a run-down strip into a bustling corridor of restaurants, shops and high-end apartments. In addition to the proposed hotel, DevMar is the developer of Vantage Lofts, a 11-story building with 211 residences under construction at 16th Street and First Avenue N.

Marriott describes its Tribute hotels as "a magnet for the colorful and quirky, much like the travelers who choose to stay at them.'' The only Tribute hotel now in the Tampa Bay area is the Westshore Grand on W Kennedy Boulevard.

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Just outside of the Edge District, a 132-room Tru by Hilton hotel is going up at 17th Street and Central Avenue.

Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate.