Clearwater's Liberty Group buys Seffner Hampton Inn

BUYER: Liberty Seffner Investments LLC (principal: Punit Shah), Clearwater

SELLER: IQ16 - Tampa Gateway Boulevard LLC

PROPERTY: 11740 Tampa Gateway Blvd., Seffner

PRICE: $4.25 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $8.48 million, July 2007

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Squire Sanders (US) LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Liberty Group purchased the 75-unit Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in Seffner for $4.25 million.

The price equated to $56,667 per unit.

Built in 2005, the hotel is on Interstate 4, adjacent to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

The hotel previously sold for $8.5 million in 2008, before being foreclosed upon in 2011.

“This was a property that had been mismanaged for the past several years,” says Punit Shah, president and chief operating officer of the Liberty Group. “When the receiver took it over in September of 2011, they did a fantastic job of bringing it back to where it should be. The physical condition of the hotel is phenomenal. Even so, we plan to invest a significant amount in renovations.”

Shah says the firm was aggressive in its schedule to buy the property to benefit from the impact of the Republican National Convention. It closed in 30 days.

“We are sold out the entire month of August,” Shah says. “The day we closed we already knew what our plan was to move forward.”

Atlanta-based Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels brokered the transaction.

Liberty Hospitality Management, an affiliate of the Liberty Group, will manage the hotel.

Liberty Group specializes in buying and operating hotel properties. The Seffner Hampton Inn is the 18th hotel property the company has purchased since 2010.