Proposed plans for a $225 million reconstruction of the Yacht Club Park will be presented Wednesday.
As prepared for Cape Coral City Council discussion at a workshop, the project incorporates a “coastal design” and amenities to include a new marina, boat slips and ramps, a two-story community center, concessions, resort-style pool, a riverfront beach, a playground and more.
The presentation for the city’s planned “riverfront destination” includes a marine package and proposed construction phases and amenities.
The project’s various components include a marine package to include boat slips, ramp, seawalls and more; upland phases to include, in phase 1, a harbormaster building, multi-story parking garage and site improvements; and a community center, concession building, resort-style pool, beach, playground and landscaping in phase 2.
Additional considerations for council consideration include boat slips and floating docks and co-ordination for the construction of the returning Boathouse restaurant.
Councilmember Bill Steinke said he is looking forward to moving the discussion forward to get all the facts on the table.
“At least we can get some of the more factual stuff out there in the public’s eye and have an open discussion,” he said of the workshop.
The Cape Coral Yacht Club on Driftwood Parkway was built by the city’s developers in 1962 as the then-fledgling community’s first public amenity. It included a mid-century community center, pool, pier and beach along the Caloosahatchee and quickly became a gathering center, complete with teen club.
The popular park was slated for a $12 million renovation in 2022.
Those plans changed after Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Southwest Florida on Sept. 28, 2022 as a Category 4 storm, heavily damaged the historic park.
The cost to build a resort-style replacement is now estimated at $225 million.
At that price, the estimated average annual debt service would be $14,218,742 with the city to carry the cost of that debt service for three to four years at an estimated cost of between $28 million and $43 million.
Proposed funding sources include the city share of revenue from the returning Boathouse Tiki bar & Grill; parking garage fees of $3 per hour; Community Center and pool fees and charges; adding an additional 3% to the city’s existing 7% public service tax on electric bills (estimated to raise $9.5 million per year); annual dockage fees and hourly boat slip fees of $5 per hour, and an $8 million general fund loan.
As proposed, the debt service of $225 million would be paid back over 30 years.
Steinke said he does not have a stance on anything at this point regarding the information to be presented and he pointed out that all the fees are assumptions, as they have not yet been brought before council.
“They are looking at revenue sources and expenses. If in fact it is done — this is how it will pay out,” Steinke said. “It really is crystal ball work right now.”
Steinke said he does have some questions and they stem around whether to do the docks component now, or wait.
“What is not a part of the backup that certainly will be a question that I ask is with the price of the docks today, what will the price of the docks be three years from now if we wait to do the docks,” he said. “There is always a cost of waiting, which we have seen with the variety of other things.”
The presentation does not include the potential of a P3 relationship, Steinke said, adding he thinks the idea of partnering with a private entity, which could shift costs and so impact the financing plan, may come up for discussion.
“I am guess that will at least be brought up in discussion,” he said, as it would change the performa complexity.
Steinke said with the discussion happening at a workshop, the city has to put together something to use as a “straw dog” to work from and have items discussed.
“I would certainly be a proponent of getting the docks done sooner rather than later for a few reasons,” he said. “If you are going to have a boat ramp, you are going to need to have a way for people to wait for their turn in both directions – putting boats in and taking it out.”
The city has received the state and federal permits needed to rebuild the park and marina, and has awarded reconstruction contracts to Wright Construction and Kimley Horn and Associates, Inc. for design and other services for the project on Driftwood Parkway along the Caloosahatchee.
“We worked feverishly on that permit and hit a number of hurdles we didn’t expect,” Steinke said, adding that now with those two components set, “I think we can actually gain ground here now. The hinge pin in all of it was certainly the seawall. You can’t do anything until the seawall gets done. We just recently got our approval and permit for that. I think we are heading in the right direction, and I think a lot of things will be able to be solidified on Wednesday – this is the direction we need to go, what estimates we need to get and what projects need to be bid out.”
The proposal is set for discussion Wednesday, Oct. 15, at a Cape Coral City Council workshop scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.
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