tampa

What's that sound in the distance, could it be the distant rumblings of a real estate recovery? The economy is still in flux but there are reasons to be hopeful. U.S. News & World Report has compiled a list of cities that may escape the tremendous dip in commercial real estate and be on their way to a full scale recovery. The data comes from REIS, a real estate research firm and looks at retail and office vacancy rates in the 79 biggest metro areas factoring in projections for 2010. Some of the entries on the list might surprise you (or at least they surprised me). Washington D.C. isn't shocking but Pittsburgh, Tulsa and Louisville, Kentucky are all on the list. It seems that in the commercial real estate game the smaller cities have fared better.

One silver lining of the recession might be the most affordable Super Bowl in recent years when it comes to getting tickets. Of course we can't lay this all at the economy's feet, when the Philadelphia Eagles were eliminated, the ticket prices for Super Bowl XLIII on February 1 in Tampa, Florida went down dramatically. There are more tickets than ever available through online brokers and other sites like eBay and Craigslist. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that its a great time to be a Steelers fan with average prices to see their team play hovering around the $2,500 mark, far below the Super Bowl 2008 mark of $3,536 and the lowest in recent years.

A recent check on popular ticket website stubhub.com showed tickets that range from around $1,650 for the cheapest seats to $127,788 for a luxury suite. The decline in corporate spending on these types of events combined with a less exciting pairing of the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers have meant that even with only a few days left thousands of tickets can still be found. And if you are a Steelers fan you may have lots of company, ticket brokers are reporting far more interest from Pittsburgh's fan base than from the Arizona Cardinals fans.

In a related story, the lack of corporate Super Bowl packages also means that private jet travel through Tampa's airport is expected to be less than it was in 2001, the last time Tampa hosted the Super Bowl.

Let me take the opportunity of today's estate of the day to remind everyone just how much I love getting tips on outrageous real estate. If you find a luxury property you think I should see, please use the tips form on this site to send in the info.

Today's estate was referred to me by Luxist reader Chris who rightly thought it would make an interesting estate of the day. Certainly we don't see homes this lavish in Tampa, Florida too often. The huge compounds usually tend to be on the Atlantic side of the state near Palm Beach or Boca Raton. Today's home is located inside Avila, a private country club community. The gated home is on over five acres overlooking the golf course, pond and conservation areas within Avila. The compound is over 28,000 square feet of space and with attached guest quarters it has 10 bedrooms. The home is pretty ornate. Outside it has a grand manor-like look. Inside there is a large ballroom, a library paneled in dark wood , 14 fireplaces, elevator, wine room. The grounds include a pool and spa with cabana and basketball court. Obviously a lot of money has been spent here but I question the overall effect. The dark wood, marble and touches of gilding. It reminds me of Villa Versailles in Malibu which is on the market for around the same price in that it aspires to grandeur but seems too overblown to be livable even for those with the most lavish of tastes. This home is listed at $25 million.

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eSuites is a new hotel brand designed to combine the attributes of a boutique hotel with a more tech-centered focus .All rooms will have an in-room theater with two high definition televisions and a surround-sound system with full iPod integration and built-in water purification in each suite. The hotels will have spaSuites with hot tubs in each room and sportSuites that include exercise equipment. Other amenities include an upscale dining restaurant, a fitness center, a tech concierge for connectivity issues and Lincoln Towncars and Navigators for airport pickups.

The company isn't aiming for the big cities they are looking to target markets with less than 5,000 rooms available in the immediate area. The first four hotels are expected to break ground in Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla., Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Phoenix, Ariz. The first four hotels will be eight-story, 224-room configurations with 11 conference rooms and a business center with PCs and Macs as well as scanner-copiers, printers and fax machines. The typical hotel room will be a 468-square-foot space with two rooms, a chiropractic-quality bed, and a second bed in the living room/office area for multiple occupancy. A workstation with built-in network ports, analog modem jacks and multiple power outlets will accommodate computers and peripherals. The workstation will include a desktop computer which will synch up to Blackberrys, iPods and other portable equipment. The bathroom will feature a three- by six-foot walk-in shower, a glass-top vanity with abundant storage, and extensive lighting. The average daily room rate will be between $140 and $160.

The concept isn't brand new, a quick google search reveals that eSuites had planned projects in Albuquerque and in Jacksonville for several years. Hopefully this time the concept will make it to completion.