Some homes, businesses still damaged at Helene’s 1-year mark

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Exactly one year after Hurricane Helene took the lives of 12 people in Pinellas County and damaged thousands of homes and businesses with floodwater and sand, the beach communities are slowly coming back.

Some of the hardest hit cities include St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, Maderia Beach and Gulfport.

In St. Pete Beach, four major resort hotels on Gulf Boulevard have yet to reopen. The Beachcomber and Postcard Inn expect to reopen by the end of the year, while the Bellwether and Dolphin resorts hope to reopen in 2026.

In Treasure Island, well-loved restaurants like VIP and Ricky T’s successfully reopened. The Thunderbird, the landmark of the city for the last 68 years, will not reopen until a total renovation is complete. Just south into the Sunset Beach neighborhood, some flood-damaged homes have been demolished while others sit almost untouched a year later.

In Gulfport, the historic Gulfport Casino remains closed. Many of the waterfront restaurants and shops have slowly come back online over the past year.

In Maderia Beach, many John’s Pass businesses have successfully reopened. In the city’s small downtown area, the Saltwater Hippie just this week received its building permit to renovate and take over the former Brass Captain spot, which never reopened after severe damage from Helene.

Some homes in Maderia Beach’s low-lying neighborhoods sit almost in the exact same state they did one year ago.

One of those homes belongs to Coast Guard veteran Bill Nelson.

“It’s heartbreaking to see everything you’ve worked for gone in one day,” Nelson said, looking at his flood-damaged kitchen.

Insurance money, FEMA funds and permitting, Nelson says, have all gotten in the way of moving forward with renovations. His house has been stripped to the studs in many areas, while other rooms will have to wait. Nelson says a few months ago when it all felt like too much, he tried to sell the property.

“We hired a realtor and they looked at it, and they told us if we got $500,000 we’d be lucky for both pieces of property… I was like, ‘I’m not giving this away,’” Nelson said.

In the meantime, Nelson and his family are living in a FEMA-funded apartment in St. Pete. He has to be out of that housing by the end of the year.

He’s hoping that with the help of a new contractor, he can be back in his home by December.

“I’ve spent all my saving. I have nothing left,” he said. “Just waiting this out for so long like everyone else, we’ve depleted our savings.”

Pinellas County has issued thousands of building permits over the past 365 days. Many of the beachside cities have issued a significant amount of demolition permits, including the city of Treasure Island which has topped 370.