Many historic downtowns that were once bustling city-centers are now blighted by vacant and deteriorating buildings which contribute to economic hardship. Despite their vacancy and sometimes poor condition, these buildings are important and worthy of preservation because they are historically significant and are physical evidence of the organic development of a city. However, due to a lack of government funding many of them are torn down. This calls for a private investment solution to the environmental retrieval of these buildings. Developing a brand with this foundational goal was the focus of this thesis project. This project sought out a wide-spread branded solution that would save these historic gems by giving them a new use. The new use for these buildings would positively impact the local economy, improve communities, and appeal to the public. A brand that accomplishes all of these goals could potentially be developed in multiple cities and potentially spur the redevelopment of historic downtowns and revitalize communities nationwide. The project entailed the sustainable adaptive reuse and historic preservation of the vacant S. H. Kress five-and-dime store in Tampa, Florida. It was converted into a boutique hotel because this could be a profitable enterprise that would attract visitors and locals to the area. The resulting design is a fully developed boutique hotel with a bar and lounge, fine dining restaurant, spa, fitness center, coffee lounge, business center, and 36 guestrooms. With this design the author created the Landmarc Hotel brand. By applying the theory of emotional branding through the action frameworks of passionbranding and sensory branding the author established Landmarc's brand signature and standards. From this project, the author concluded that interior design has the ability to express a brand's essence through the environment and create positive brand experiences that result in brand loyalty. The project also demonstrated that a hospitality brand and its branded environments can create places for a community and its visitors to enjoy and become invested in. This new economic & community asset can initialize the total revitalization of a historic downtown by bringing people back into the area and gaining their love and loyalty to a brand that saves their local landmarks. People will support the Landmarc Hotel brand because Landmarc Hotels gives back to their local community and honors their culture and traditions through design and a unique brand that emphasizes the special qualities of their city. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Interior Design in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 8, 2011. / Adaptive Reuse, Historic Preservation, National Register of Historic Places, Revitalization, Branding, Boutique Hotel, Sustainability, Brand Loyalty, Emotional Branding, Passionbranding, Brand Belief, Sensory Branding, Sensory Design, Community, Urban Fabric, Sense of Place / Includes bibliographical references. / Karen Myers, Professor Directing Thesis; Marlo Ransdell, Committee Member; Jim Dawkins, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182168 |
| Contributors | Grove, Christina (authoraut), Myers, Karen (professor directing thesis), Ransdell, Marlo (committee member), Dawkins, Jim (committee member), Department of Interior Design (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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