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According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, Flamingo Lodge, the only hotel in Everglades National Park, is now a heap of rubble.
Due to Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, the hotel has suffered major damage since 2005. The two-story hotel, built in 1959 to cater to tourists traveling by car, sat 38 miles down the park’s main road.
Attempts were made to rebuild the hotel, including a proposal for a smaller and storm-resistant hotel as a candidate for stimulus funding from the Obama administration. The proposal, however, did not go through mainly because rebuilding plans are not far enough along at the moment.
Finding funding is a problem, and the park’s best bet might be to look to a public-private partnership.
In general, the park plans to replace the lodge and already razed cabins with a 30-room hotel and 24 cottages. Forty eco-tent structures could be used during the winter and moved for hurricanes. The park has reopened campgrounds in Flamingo; however, major renovations could be years away.