The university bought 57,760 square feet of land that includes the restaurant. Tribune file photo by JASON BEHNKEN (2005)

TAMPA - The University of Tampa and an undisclosed partner have bought the vintage Valencia Garden restaurant, school officials reported today.

The university will use the site for future development, according to a UT news release. It did not specify what that development might entail.

The property is the city block bordered by Kennedy Boulevard on the south, Brevard Avenue on the east, North A Street on the north and North Boulevard on the west. The university bought about 57,760 square feet of the eastern part of the tract. The total property contains three structures, one of which is Valencia Garden.

The part of the property purchased by the undisclosed company eventually will revert to the university.

The restaurant, which has been at the site since 1927, long has been a popular gathering place for politicians, business people and area residents. It specialized in Spanish cuisine and had a decor intended to reflect the ambiance of rural Spain.

The restaurant's manager, David Agliano, on Wednesday confirmed the business had closed. A locked gate at the restaurant's entrance greeted customers, many of them regulars, beginning Wednesday morning.

The property at 811 W. Kennedy Blvd. is adjacent to the university campus and across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa. "We anticipate future development consistent with university design and use standards that have already taken place on campus and along the Kennedy Boulevard corridor," the news release states.

The university cites a confidentiality agreement in declining to comment further on sale details or planned uses for the site.