Convergent Capital Partners, Liberty Group partner on Aloft project

Clearwater-based Liberty Group and Tampa's Convergent Capital Partners have announced plans to renovate a former Mercantile Bank office building, at 100 W. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Tampa, into the Aloft in Tampa.

The hotel project came about because of a friendship between Santosh Govindaraju, CEO of Convergent Capital Partners, and Punit Shah, president and chief operating officer of the Liberty Group.

Govindaraju's Convergent Capital Partners purchased the 67,465-square-foot office in May for $2.2 million, a sharp decline from the $9 million it sold for in mid-2006.