New hue: festive, fun or -- shocking?

The Bilmar's new "cabana yellow'' paint appeals to tourists but has some locals wincing, the manager says.

By AMY WIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 27, 2001

TREASURE ISLAND -- No longer is the Thunderbird -- that hotel with the grandiose, neon bird, its outstretched wings welcoming folks to town -- the most visible resort in Treasure Island.

The longtime landmark appears to have been upstaged by its next-door neighbor, the Bilmar Beach Resort.

The Bilmar, 10650 Gulf Blvd., historically has been beige. "Very plain beige," says Richard Ferrell, who heads a company that manages the Bilmar. "Very boring beige color."

No more. Its new owners have bathed the Bilmar in cabana yellow. The property that already is the most expensive on Treasure Island's tax rolls now is the most conspicuous.

Reaction has been mixed.

"It's funny," said Ferrell, whose company is called Forbes Hamilton Management Co. "The tourists coming down for winter like it because it's festive, it says "fun.' To some of the locals, a lot of times change is scary, and they say, "Oh, my God, it's so yellow.'

"It just depends on who you are. Fortunately, the people we're housing tend to like it."

The Pinellas County property appraiser values the Bilmar at $8.3-million. It sold last year to new owners Cleveland-based Consolidated Management Properties Inc. for $12-million.

The company's overhaul of the Bilmar, first opened in 1961, includes the addition of a Key West-style Sloppy Joe's restaurant. The new color is part of the facelift, explained Ferrell.

Ferrell said he also was involved in a recent refurbishing that took a building from fatigue green to periwinkle. The neighbors were shocked at first but soon recovered.

Similarly, another well-known beach landmark, he points out, used to be white -- not exactly the signature color it is known for today.

"The Don CeSar wasn't always pink," Ferrell said. "When they painted it pink, people couldn't believe it. "Now the pink is what is so much fun."

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