Gay bathhouse cleveland ohio

By Joe P. Tone on Wed, May 3, at am. Not that he's in a hurry. He's just giddy about his creation. Building the country's coolest bathhouse apparently has that effect. Fleck is a millionaire real-estate investor from South Florida, where he bought up the block made famous in There's Something About Mary.

But upscale bathhouses are his passion. But he saved his most ambitious project for his hometown. The former Greyhound depot near East 26th and St. Clair will be 48, square feet of unfettered opulence -- a blue-tiled funhouse of private cabanas, steamy saunas, food, entertainment, and men. Lots and lots of men.

When he's done, Fleck says, Cleveland will be home to the world's finest gay bathhouse.

Cleveland Gay Saunas

Some view bathhouses as little more than legalized brothels. Many were shut down in the '80s, with the explosion of AIDS. And they remain the targets of conservatives, health officials, and others who blame them for spreading sexually transmitted diseases. In Atlanta, after he was denied his spa and liquor licenses, Fleck battled the city all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court.

New Orleans also tried to deny his spa bathhouse, unsuccessfully arguing that he was running a sex club. He's still in court in Phoenix, where he was accused of running an illegal entertainment venue. But industry veterans say that no one promotes safe sex better than bathhouses. Most clubs, including Fleck's, offer health screenings, literature on STDs, and boatloads of free condoms.

But at the moment, there's little to offer near 26th and St. Clair, except for cheap real estate, abundant parking, and gay privacy. That's precisely what drew Fleck to the spot. In his other markets, the project ohio have cost at least double. And there's another advantage to Cleveland: He doesn't expect much opposition.

When he opened his Columbus Cleveland near a library, he endured protests from conservatives, who gasped at what would go on in the private "cabanas. Complaints about the club's sexual activity will "fall on deaf ears," Cimperman says. He envisions several new bars -- and eventually new housing -- moving in after his bathhouse opens in July.

Halfway through a tour of the future Flex, you begin to understand why.