NORTH REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. – For decades, the Coral Shores Resort has served as a pink-hued sanctuary for families seeking a beach getaway.
Read more ECHO helps community members in need with an army of volunteers
Now, nearly two years after the back-to-back destruction of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the owners of the 19-unit resort are raising money to save what they describe as a “piece of their hearts.”
What they’re saying:
“It’s a place that we’ve raised our children and our grandchildren, and it’s just beautiful,” Vicki Hoffman, Coral Shores board president and a unit owner, said. “It’s a safe location. It is a little old pink motel that was converted in 1981. It’s not a Hilton. It is just a good old “mom-and-pop” motel that was completely destroyed in 2024.”
Hurricanes Helene and Milton flooded Coral Shores with four feet of water in spots, devastating their “home away from home.”
Courtesy: Eric Schuster
“It was surreal because there was this absolute complete destruction,” Rick Wilson, treasurer of the Coral Shores board, said.
Wilson, an engineer, is also supervising the contractors and his wife is helping with the interior design work of the rooms.
Many of the owners, like Eric Schuster, have been visiting the resort for decades.
Read more Tampa Bay Buccaneers release 2026 NFL schedule
“Unfortunately, I lost my father last October, and it is one of my father’s most favorite places to go in the world,” Schuster said, noting that his parents spent several winters there.
By the numbers:
Schuster says their insurance helped with the initial remediation costs, which were more than $800,000, but the rebuild price tag is about $1.7 million. They’ve applied for a loan and started an online fundraiser to help.
“Every dollar that we raise, it goes directly into our rebuild fund. We don’t have a corporation that’s bailing us out on this. We are the owners of this,” Schuster said.
“It’s a lot of money, but we have really with determination and creativity and hard work and owners’ funds, but these are owners, you know, these are not rich people. These are people that just love being with their families on a vacation,” Hoffman said.
“Oh my gosh, it is incredibly important, not just for us, but for all the owners [to make the repairs]. As I mentioned before, they’re like family, so they come down here. They have potluck dinners. They all do things together. They are such a tight-knit group,” Wilson said.
What’s next:
Repair crews are currently on-site working on the renovations. The owners remain optimistic, stating they hope to officially reopen the resort in a couple of months.
Read more Tampa city leaders approve $35M to jumpstart work for Ybor Harbor waterfront development
About the Author
