Career
Shahid began his career as a builder when the contractor he hired to construct his home quit. Shahid hired the construction crew, completing the home under budget. From there he went on to build homes throughout Birmingham from 1946 to 1952.
Moving to Florida in 1952, Shahid purchased the Riviera Hotel in Destin and built the Shoreline Hotel in 1955.
It was in 1971-72 that Shahid made his most significant contribution to Destin by building the town's first highrise condominium, the Shoreline Towers. At the time there were no other major condominium complexes or resorts in Walton or Okaloosa counties. The construction of the Shoreline Towers heralded the beginning of Destin's transformation from a sleepy fishing village into one of the most significant holiday locations on the Florida panhandle.
Shahid went on to develop other major coastal projects in Destin, including Shoreline Towers West in 1978 (renamed The Tides) and Regency Towers in 1982. He has been called "the man who...has done more to change the face of Destin", in part because Shorline Towers "brough a world of money into Okaloosa County."
Read more about this topic: Ernest Shahid
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