John R. DeSilva

Managing Partner

Designer/Architect/General Contractor
Boutique Hospitality Industry and High-End Real Estate
Film Industry Producer/Executive Producer

1100 Brightwaters Blvd. N.E.
St. Petersburg FL 33704

Residential, Commercial and Retail Development and Construction

Mr. DeSilva, as CEO and President of the former John R. DeSilva Corporation (JRDC), spent twenty-five years leading the company as its designer, architect, and general contractor in the international retail design and construction industry. Mentored in his early twenties in New York City’s Garment District by Paul Lavin and Isadore “Izzy” Rosenblum, he gained a practical education that far exceeded anything formal training could offer.

For Lavin and Rosenblum, he ultimately designed and built a regional chain of women’s clothing stores called Stuff to Wear. JRDC later expanded to serve an elite clientele that included Gianni Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Cartier, Jimmy Choo, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bvlgari, Gucci, Nina Ricci, Hermès, Donna Karan, and many other leading brands. The firm designed and built retail stores and restaurants across major U.S. cities—including Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, Boston, Orlando, and Miami—as well as projects in the Bahamas and Florence, Italy.

Mr. DeSilva’s design talent also helped launch several national food and dry-goods chains of more than eighty stores, such as Nature’s Table. His consistent performance earned the respect of major enclosed shopping-center developers, including The Leonard L. Farber Corporation, The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, The Rouse Company, Simon Properties, J&M Properties, and The Cafaro Company. Notably, in twenty-five years JRDC never missed a deadline on a time-sensitive project. Mr. DeSilva retired from this successful career in 1995.

Boutique Hospitality Industry & High-End Real Estate

In 1996, following his retirement from a distinguished twenty-five–year career in international retail design and construction, Mr. DeSilva expanded his portfolio into luxury real estate acquisitions across Florida, California, Chicago, Italy, and the Bahamas. Among his most notable ventures was the 1997 acquisition of the former Anheuser-Busch International and Busch Entertainment Corporation estate on Pass-A-Grille Beach, Florida—later transformed under his direction into the acclaimed Birds of Paradise Boutique Resort & Marina. Through strategic branding, marketing, and comprehensive redevelopment, Mr. DeSilva elevated the property from its original $1.1 million valuation to an appraised value of more than $19 million at the height of the market. By the early 2000s, the venue achieved nightly revenues ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 and maintained an impressive 80% annual occupancy rate.

For the next twenty-one years, Mr. DeSilva owned and operated what became a world-renowned boutique hospitality destination. Celebrated by both local media and industry peers as a pioneer in luxury boutique lodging, he helped redefine the hospitality experience for affluent travelers and played a pivotal role in revitalizing a stagnating regional hotel market. The Birds of Paradise attracted a distinguished roster of guests over several decades—royalty, military dignitaries, legendary athletes, celebrated musicians, Hollywood luminaries, television personalities, and even presidents of the United States. During Mr. DeSilva’s stewardship, the resort’s intimate scale and exclusivity fostered countless artistic and personal connections, ultimately inspiring him to refine a long-held passion: the pursuit of independent filmmaking. These years of hosting storytellers, performers, and cultural icons became the creative bridge that led to the founding of Caribbean Pictures Entertainment in 2014. In 2017, Mr. DeSilva sold the Birds of Paradise Boutique Resort & Marina for a value exceeding $13 million.

Film Industry

In 2014, Mr. DeSilva founded Caribbean Pictures Entertainment, an independent film company dedicated to developing high-level content across multiple genres. As CEO, he is positioning the company to thrive within an evolving global marketplace, drawing on his proven leadership, entrepreneurial insight, and ability to cultivate distinctive creative partnerships. His commitment to innovative production models and high-quality independent filmmaking reflects the same vision and discipline that defined his earlier career in design, construction, and luxury hospitality.

Caribbean Pictures Entertainment has acquired a list of original film and television properties that are ready to advance to development. Mr. DeSilva collaborated with Gordon Michaels–actor, director, and screenwriter–to assist in the development of the feature film PaleoJoe and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Lost. Preliminary development is already underway for several other viable projects for both streaming and theatrical release, including a historically grounded dramatic series chronicling the rise, influence, and legacy of the Santo Trafficante Mafia family of Florida.

To bring this series to life, Mr. DeSilva is working with acclaimed writer Nick Pileggi, celebrated for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman, and other similar works. Their collaboration underscores Caribbean Pictures Entertainment’s commitment to producing compelling, high-caliber stories that resonate with contemporary audiences. (See John R. DeSilva on IMDb: Caribbean Pictures Entertainment.)