Harborview Center

Originally constructed to house the Maas Brothers department store, the 65,000-square-foot building known as Harborview Center was acquired by the City of Clearwater in 1994 for conversion into a convention center. Its interior was redesigned as a maze of meeting rooms, conference halls, ballrooms, and banquet facilities covering some 20,000 square feet.

For fifteen years, the facility hosted trade shows, conventions, and various events. However, at least partly because of its odd configuration, the center never quite realized the potential seen in it, leading many local residents to decry the property as a "Clearwater's white elephant."

By 2010, it became clear that the city could no longer afford the $350,000 a year required to subsidize Harborview Center's operations. Tenants were given notice that plans were being made to demolish the structure over the summer. At least one occupant, Pickles Deli, still had another decade on its lease.

All of the building's fixtures, including walk-in freezers, overhead projectors, soup bowls, light fixtures, storage racks, sofas, podiums, coffee urns, and more, were auctioned off in April 2010. According to reports, there are no particular plans for the site, although the Clearwater Parks & Recreation Department still features Harborview Center on its official web site, stating it is open from 8:30am to 5:30pm weekdays, and closed on Saturdays and Sundays, "other than for special programming." The address is 300 Cleveland Street, Clearwater, Florida 33756.