A little over a year ago, the property at 4601 34th St. South in St. Petersburg was in complete disarray.
In fact, the site, which in its heyday housed a Holiday Inn, was downright decrepit. The pool lay empty, full of cracks and debris. The walls were grey and peeling. Weeds grew from any crevice they possibly could. Homeless used the vacant building for squatting and prostitution ran rampant.
Essentially, it was a hovel.
You’d never know it today, though, as Flamingo Resort, the Tampa Bay area’s only luxury GLBT resort, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary over Labor Day weekend. What was once an eyesore to the community is now bright, beautiful and vibrant.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.