The Tampa Port Authority appears to have slammed the door on new negotiations with Liberty Channelside LLC to take over Channelside Bay Plaza.

"The Port will not further consider Liberty's proposal,” Port Counsel Charles Klug wrote in a June 11 letter to attorneys representing the Irish Bank Resolution Corp., which holds a defaulted mortgage for Channelside.

The port authority, which owns the land underneath on the troubled entertainment complex, wants to engage in more direct negotiations with the IBRC.

"In the spirit of cooperation, the Port is prepared to undertake discussions with other proposed lease assignees that the Irish Bank may propose. In order to expedite the process, the Port proposes to mutually cooperate with the Irish Bank in reviewing parties who may be interested in assuming the lease and curing the outstanding lease defaults,” Klug wrote.

At its May 21 meeting, the port authority board unanimously rejected the Irish Bank's request to assign the lease to Liberty Channelside.

Representatives of Liberty Channelside had continued to hold hope of restarting the negotiation, which soured in part because of the port's demand for an escrow account dedicated to revitalizing Channelside.

Liberty Channelside is a joint effort of Liberty Group and Convergent Capital Partners, which are both based in Tampa. Liberty Group is renovating the former Mercantile Bank building in downtown Tampa into an Aloft brand boutique hotel.

At a groundbreaking ceremony for Aloft on Tuesday, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn praised Liberty Group's effort to redevelop the property. As a member of the port board, he voted against Liberty Channelside being assigned the Channelside lease.

Mark Holan's beats include commercial real estate and residential real estate