Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

During its first three decades in business, Tampa-based Liberty Group focused on buying select-service hotels — with flags like Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn & Express — in primarily suburban locations.

But over the past seven years, second-generation CEO Punit Shah has been methodically and strategically transforming the company into a more diversified enterprise.

The company's latest land acquisitions demonstrate how Liberty Group is evolving. Last year, the company spent more than $10 million to acquire tracts at 1155 E. Kennedy Blvd., 800 S. Harbour Island and at 319 Bayshore Blvd., all in downtown Tampa.