BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — A year after Hurricane Irma passed through the Florida Keys, the island chain's largest recreational vehicle resort has formally reopened to visitors.
Sunshine Key RV Resort in the Lower Keys marked the reopening Monday of 100 of its 399 RV sites, as well as new resort amenities. The resort says the remainder of the sites will return to business by Oct. 1.
The 75-acre resort's owner, Chicago-based Equity Lifestyle Properties, invested millions to rebuild infrastructure and enhance facilities after Irma's storm surge and winds pummeled the property Sept. 10, 2017.
More than 90 percent of lodging facilities have reopened throughout the Keys.
Officials say tourism employs 54 percent of the Florida Keys workforce and is worth about $2.7 billion to the Keys economy.