WEST TAMPA - Indigo Coffee's flagship location at Howard Avenue and Interstate 275 was shuttered and demolished last month to make room for a three-story brick office building.

"It is a gorgeous-looking building," said Jeff Darrey, property owner and managing director and co-founder of Indigo Coffee. "It looks like an old cigar factory."

Darrey said he closed the drive-through coffee shop after six years because the location is best suited for an office building and there's another Indigo Coffee drive-through at I-275 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Also, the local chain will concentrate on cafe-style coffee shops where customers can relax, entertain a guest or business client and potentially spend more, he said. Indigo Coffee recently opened a downtown location that offers free Internet access, a plasma television and music.

"You can't sustain enough business in a double drive-through," Darrey said.

The proposed 9,800-square-foot office building will have a parking garage on the first floor and offices on the second and third. It will resemble the area's historical buildings and will have wood floors.

Construction is expected to begin in July and be completed this year. The estimated cost is $2.5 million.

Darrey said the building's location and visibility could interest a law firm or bank. He considers West Tampa's history charming and said the area has potential.

"It is a sleeper that is going to skyrocket when the market thrives," Darrey said.

Indigo Coffee has five locations in Tampa. Darrey said he has no plans to close the drive-through shop at Martin Luther King and I-275.

"We will evaluate the model, but we have no plans of shutting that down," he said.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.