UPDATE: The implosion has been rescheduled for Wednesday between 1:30-2 a.m.
ORIGINAL STORY:
When demolition experts push the button early Sunday, the former DoubleTree Hotel in Tampa’s Westshore district will quite literally bite the dust.
The 50-year-old building, at 4500 W. Cypress St., is scheduled for implosion at 4 a.m. — weather permitting — to make room for a staging area for the Westshore Interchange construction project, which will begin next year.
Tampa police will set up an exclusion zone around the nine-acre site to prevent anyone from getting too close. Several hours prior to the implosion, nearby streets will be closed. Interstate 275, which borders the south side of the property, will be detoured just prior to detonation.
If you’re close enough and awake, you’ll hear the rumble. If you’re close enough and abruptly awakened, have no fear, although neighbors have been notified of the scheduled blast, according to a media email from City Councilman Alan Clendenin.
“The sound will be like a thunderstorm overhead and will last for approximately 10 to 12 seconds,” the email reads.
Implosion is a controlled demolition by strategically placing explosives in a structure so it quickly collapses on itself when detonated. The cost-effective practice minimizes damage to structure’s surroundings. However, dust is an unpreventable byproduct.
“The community has been informed on how to mitigate impact from the dust through a Community Outreach Program,” the email reads. “Once the ‘all clear’ has been given, the contractor will begin a post-implosion evaluation to assess the level of dust cleanup required.”
Roadways will be reopened as soon as the dust has settled and cleanup crews have completed dust removal.
In 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Transportation announced a $1.4 billion project to rebuild the Westshore Interchange, which connects I-275, State Road 60, Veterans Expressway and Tampa International Airport.
The project will coincide with ongoing reconstruction of the Howard Frankland Bridge, which carries I-275 traffic west across Old Tampa Bay to Pinellas County.
Rebuilding the Westshore Interchange has been in the state’s plans for years. In anticipation, FDOT purchased the hotel and adjacent Charley’s Steakhouse in December 2015 for about $45 million, according to property records. At the time, it was proposed as a site for an intermodal transit center.
The 489-room hotel, located across Cypress Street from Jefferson High School, was shuttered a year ago, according to a notice filed with the state by ARL Tampa Management LLC of Boston.
