ST. PETERSBURG — In the past few years, Michael Andoniades has turned two faded hotels — the Hollander and the Avalon — into two of St. Petersburg's trendiest, most popular lodgings.

So it is with mixed feelings that residents of the city's Historic Uptown district have reacted to news that Andoniades bought an old retirement hotel in their midst.

On the one hand, they see it as more evidence of the rebirth of an area once frequented by addicts and transients. On the other, they fear that a hotel as popular as the Hollander would draw too much traffic to a neighborhood of narrow streets that already faces a serious shortage of parking.

"Most of us do not have off-street parking, which can become an issue if a large facility opens without enough,'' said Maureen Cacioppo, who lives in Uptown.

She and other residents also say Andoniades has been less than forthcoming about his plans for the five-story building overlooking picturesque Round Lake.

Fliers in the lobby tout "Uptown Studio Apartments.'' But asked if he intends to do rentals, Andoniades grabbed a flier out of a reporter's hands and said: "It's still in the idea stage of things.''

A local interior design firm posted a photo on Instragram of the redecorated lobby — striking in orange, black and white — with this caption: "Front desk sign at our hotel remodel! Getting closer every day!'' And city officials say Andoniades has spoken with them about possibly putting a restaurant in the building at 465 Seventh Ave. N. His Tap Room restaurant in the Hollander has a large following.

At issue is what originally was called Lake View House, built in 1960 as a 64-room retirement hotel. In 1991, the then-owners said they were not attracting enough retirees and asked the city for permission to use some beds as an adult congregate living facility.

"Many of the contacts we have made advised us to become an ACLF," John and Barbara Mehos wrote in their application. "They could then refer residents who are presently living in downtown St. Petersburg in substandard facilities. It is our desire … to make the Round Lake neighborhood and downtown St. Petersburg an attractive and prosperous community.''

As downtown continued to struggle, so did the hotel and Historic Uptown. In the last several years, though, new houses have been built and many of the older homes and small apartment buildings have been spruced up.

"We finally are getting some momentum as a neighborhood,'' Kristy Andersen, president of the Historic Uptown Neighborhood Association, said of the area bounded by Fourth and 16th streets and Fifth and 12th avenues.

"We've gotten drugs out of here, we're sort of successful getting the homeless to pick up after themselves,'' Andersen said. "There are a lot of people who have invested in the neighborhood, and now they wonder what's going on with this (hotel).''

Under two company names, Andionades bought the 28,842-square-foot building in August for $2.45 million. Last month, he bought a small house directly behind it for $407,300, nearly six times more than the sellers had paid for it four years ago.

A sign at the entrance to the main building says: UPTOWN DAILY WEEKLY MONTHLY BY APPOINTMENT. In June, Andionades got a hotel license from the state for 51 to 100 units.

As it now stands, the building is permitted by the city for use as a 50-room hotel and a 14-bed ALF. It could stay that way or possibly be converted to a maximum of 22 apartments or condos, city officials say.

"It's a bit complicated,'' acknowledged Robert Gerdes, the city's neighborhood affairs administrator.

Although the site has limited parking, "additional parking would not be required for the hotel or ALF,'' zoning official Elizabeth Abernethy said in an email. "Parking may be required to convert the hotel to dwelling units.''

Uptown residents wonder if Adionades bought the century-old house nearby so he could tear it down and create more parking spaces for either a hotel or apartments. The city doesn't allow rentals of less than 30 days so the "daily weekly monthly'' sign at the entrance suggests Andionades plans a hotel.

"I like to slowly get my stuff ready'' is about all he would say.

Residents say they aren't opposed to having a hip hotel like the Hollander in their neighborhood — as long as it doesn't aggravate the parking situation.

"We would like something cool like that here, a place to hang out,'' Andersen said. "But we have been dealing with parking and traffic issues before they came along. And we don't want historic buildings torn down for parking lots.''

Contact Susan Taylor Martin smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate