To help close the transaction, the company used $13.5 million from its line of credit. MHI plans to rebrand the hotel and begin a $20 million capital improvement program with major physical improvements. The hotel, which is shuttered, will reopen after renovations are complete in the first quarter of 2009. "We had looked at this property in the past and, when it came back on the market, we decided it was an attractive property to own, so we bid on it," MHI COO Dave Folsom tells GlobeSt.com.

Folsom adds that the property fit the company's strategic criteria for acquisition, including that it is a full-service hotel in an attractive market. The hotel is situated on 3.82 acres in Tampa's Westshore Corridor, the city's corporate, entertainment, restaurant and shopping district. It is located within five miles from downtown Tampa and within two miles of Tampa International Airport. It is also in close proximity to local attractions, such as Westshore Mall, Legends Field, Raymond James Stadium, International Plaza Mall and others. After the hotel reopens, it will be called Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore. "With its scale and amenities the property is an excellent fit," says MHI president and CEO Andrew Sims, in a prepared statement. "The acquisition also extends our footprint in the dynamic Florida market."

MHI also owns the 311-room Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood and the 292-room Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront in Jacksonville. "We'd love to make more acquisitions in Florida, we just have to find the right properties," Folsom says.