Cape Coral moves ahead with plans to demolish Yacht Club buildings despite opposition

Cape Coral is moving forward with plans to demolish the Yacht Club Community Park's buildings despite opposition from residents who wanted to save the beloved ballroom building.

"Council made a decision collectively back in January in a retreat, we had some further discussion today, and the majority wish to continue with the same plan that we spoke about in January," Mayor John Gunter said Wednesday.

The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which includes the yacht basin, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a ballroom, and a riverside beach, has served as a popular attraction and staple for the city since the 1960s.

The park has been closed since incurring damage after Hurricane Ian made landfall last September.

Interim City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn put the topic of the Yacht Club up for discussion at a Wednesday committee of the whole meeting to dispel rumors from residents after a Florida Municipal Insurance Trust hurricane claim report put the estimated damage of the ballroom building at $24,565.

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Building demolition opposition

In May, Cape Coral announced its intention to demolish all buildings at the Yacht Club Community Park because of the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Ian, which prompted an outcry from former officials and residents who didn't want to see the historic Yacht Club building torn down.

Kari Lerner, a resident who grew up in Cape Coral, called the move to tear down the main ballroom building "fiscally irresponsible."

She and other residents, like former Mayor Joe Mazurkiewicz and former city councilmember Gloria Tate, called for preserving Cape Coral's only historic building.

"People would say it has no historic significance, and in many cities, it wouldn't, but in this city, it's the only building with historic significance," said Mazurkiewicz, who is a 55-year resident of the city. "All I ask you to do is respect our past."

Tate said the building is the only thing compelling her to be active in council matters again, and she's working to get the yacht club marked as a state historic building.

"Without history, we have nowhere to go," Tate said "Jack and Leonard Rosen put every ounce of creativity they had into building this city, and with one fell swoop and a bulldozer, you are going to wipe it out."

The Yacht Club building estimation

The city first discussed the potential future of the yacht club back in January when the council decided to take a "clean slate" approach to renovating the area and its facilities.

"It seems like some members of the community have all of the sudden taken an interest in what was discussed back in January," Ilczyszyn said.

He said there's been misinterpretation by residents on what was presented and added that repairs and conditions of the building have not changed.

Maxwell Hendry Simmons, a real estate appraisal firm, put the ballroom building's market value at $680,000 and put the effective age of the building at 40 years.

Staff from the public works department examined the facilities and put the total cost of maintenance, which includes replacing and or fixing electrical wiring, walls, roofing, plumbing, etc, for the Yacht Club complex at over $2.5 million.

Florida Municipal Insurance Trust's hurricane claim report put the estimated damage to the ballroom building at $24,565, and the city requested a validation for that figure.

TetraTech, a consulting and engineering firm, came back with $2.7 million for the Yacht Club complex, and $320,000 for the ballroom building's needed repairs.

Ilczyszyn said the real issue the Yacht Club has is the needed improvements.

Wyatt Daltry, the planning team coordinator with the city of Cape Coral. said the repairs needed at the facility, whether caused by Ian or not, would need to follow FEMA's 50% rule.

The 50% rule requires structures with substantial damage, or substantial improvements exceeding 50% of their market value, to meet the same requirements as new construction and current hurricane code, such as elevating the buildings.

FEMA is still preparing its final inspection report, but the city anticipated being over the 50% rule. The city does not anticipate being granted a variance for the facilities at the Yacht Club.

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Cape Council responds

Councilmembers Tom Hayden and Robert Welsh wanted to go back and explore other options.

Hayden said he previously thought the building had suffered massive hurricane damage, but the talks of preserving the history of the building has changed his mind.

"I'm certainly not in a place anymore where I think we need to demolish the building," Hayden said. "The fact of the matter is we can probably renovate the building for less than what it would cost to build a new one."

Gunter said regardless of storm damage, the 50% rule still applies to the Yacht Club facility, and his decision to move forward with a new building has not changed.

"We have to make sure we have a safe structure, we have a structure that's going to last another 60 years," he added.

He also said the city will be working to reopen the beach portion of the property sometime in the future, possibly in September.

"We have two different firms that are there till the end of August, which gives us 90 days, so I would like to, in that 90 days, develop a plan to at least get it cleaned up and get it open where it's safe," Gunter said.

Ilczyszyn said there are talks about how to preserve the history of the old building, either through incorporating old pieces, through videos, and or through a museum.

Kimley Horn, a consulting firm, is putting together a bid package for the demolition of existing buildings.

The bid will happen in June or July, and the actual demolition will possibly happen by August or September.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral moves ahead with demolition plans for Yacht Club buildings