TAMPA - A company that owns two nightclubs in the Bay area quietly has been buying land to build upscale hotels in downtown Tampa, the West Shore area and Pinellas County.

Tampa-based Fuel Group International's proposed projects seem ambitious by any measure, especially because so many real estate projects have fallen victim to high construction and land costs and a tighter financing market. However, for now it is hoping to ink deals with such lofty hotel chains as Ritz-Carlton, Westin and the boutique W chain.

On Tuesday, the Tampa law firm Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady announced the sale of The Westshore Hotel (formerly the Best Western), at 1200 N. West Shore Blvd. in Tampa. The buyer was an affiliate of the Fuel Group, and the seller was a group called Pegasus Hotel Associates. The sale price for the building and 4.3-acre property was $17.4 million, Hillsborough County property appraiser records show.

Fuel Group apparently was caught off-guard by the announcement. Richard MacKizer, a senior vice president for the company, said Fuel Group was not aware that Williams Schifino was releasing the news. Fuel Group's Web site says the company is planning a hotel and office project at the site called the Westshore Westin Center.

MacKizer confirmed the company is planning an upscale hotel and office condominiums on the site, but wouldn't say whether it has signed a deal with the Westin hotel chain. He also declined to talk about Fuel Group's financing sources. However, MacKizer said it has had discussions about entering into a partnership with Miami-based Related Group, the company that has considered joining the Trump Tower Tampa project.

The West Shore project is just one of several plans by Fuel Group, which until now primarily was known for owning two Fuel nightclubs, in downtown Tampa and Ybor City. The company has battled with the city of Tampa over the level of noise at its nightclubs. According to a biography on its Web site, Fuel Group is run by Jiwat Lalwani, a former energy company executive in Nigeria, and his son, J.S. Lalwani.

County property records show that the company has spent more than $10 million buying chunks of land across from the Tampa Convention Center downtown, between South Florida Avenue and South Franklin Street. Fuel Group's Web site shows a proposed W hotel on the property.

W hotels are known as boutique hotels that offer a high-tech wired atmosphere and a hip, nightclublike feel in their lobbies.

A spokeswoman for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, which owns the Westin and W chains, didn't immediately know Tuesday afternoon whether either hotel chain had signed a deal with Fuel Group.

According to Fuel Group's Web site, it also is proposing to build either a W or Ritz-Carlton hotel on Clearwater Beach as part of the proposed Kiran Grand Resort & Spa. The company may face competition to land Ritz-Carlton though, because Clearwater businessman Sandip Patel already is negotiating to bring a Ritz-Carlton to Tampa's Rocky Point area.

Fuel Group has gotten the most attention for its proposed hotel-condo tower in downtown St. Petersburg on Fifth Avenue North. At first, the tower was to be 33 stories and have 260 hotel rooms. However, some neighbors complained about the size and scope of the project, and it was scaled back to 22 stories and 154 hotel rooms.

The project is moving forward and seeking approval from regulatory agencies, said Ron Weaver, a local land use attorney representing Fuel Group.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.