{"id":206654,"date":"2026-03-26T09:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/206654\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:26:08","slug":"lee-resort-opens-26m-water-park-more-expansion-tied-up-in-litigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/206654\/","title":{"rendered":"Lee resort opens $26M water park, more expansion tied up in litigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Spencer grew up vacationing on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. \u201cI was that nine-year-old riding a bike to Blind Pass to go fishing,\u201d he says. \u201cI always knew that it was just a really special part of Florida. It was accessible, but it felt like you were on a private island type of configuration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he hopes other kids and their families get to experience that same kind of feeling when they stay at South Seas, which was purchased in 2021 by Timbers Co., The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital for $125 million. The 330-acre resort on the northern tip of Captiva Island opened its latest family-friendly amenity, Captiva Landing, at the end of December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the south end of the resort, the $26-million Captiva Landing includes a water-play zone with waterslides, lazy river, pool, quick-service restaurant, arcade and kids club. It\u2019s a much-needed amenity for that end of the property, where 61% of the current lodging units are situated.<\/p>\n

And it fits in with the general philosophies of Timbers, a developer and operator of luxury resorts, hotels, vacation residences and private residence clubs based in Winter Park, where Spencer is CEO. \u201cTimbers Company has always been focused on multigenerational travel,\u201d says Spencer, 55. \u201cWe find that it is a lot more sticky of an experience\u2026We really try to focus on selling memories, on selling the opportunity to create \u2018first of\u2019 [experiences] with your grandkids or with your kids. And I think that\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another important part of the project, in Spencer\u2019s view, is progress \u2014 in adding hotel rooms, condos and a spa and fitness center<\/a>. That\u2019s been thwarted by lawsuits and a multi-party opposition movement. The gist of the pushback: traffic and too much disruption to the character of the islands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the organizations that opposes the project, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, has stated its concerns are that “the increased density will not only impact the unique nature of Captiva, but the added intensity of use will contribute to a degradation of our water quality, wildlife and our coastal ecosystems…In addition, there is also the worry that a project like this would set a new precedent for development on Captiva. If this project is allowed to develop despite past agreements, counter to the character of the island, and without engaging their neighbors from the beginning of the process, it could shift the paradigm away from the values that made Captiva special.”<\/p>\n

Big investment<\/p>\n

The group behind South Seas believes it has engaged with the community, and the project is just right for Captiva.<\/p>\n

Since purchasing South Seas, the developers have invested slightly more than $100 million on cleanup and repairs after the 2022 and 2024 hurricane seasons, resiliency measures and new amenities like Captiva Landing, the Beach House restaurant overlooking the resort\u2019s Sunset Beach and The Clutch nine-hole, family-friendly golf course. Spencer estimates the owners have \u201cgot north of a quarter of a billion dollars invested in the property right now\u201d when you add in the purchase price from 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Greg<\/p>\n

Greg Spencer, CEO of Timbers Co., at the site of Captiva Landing, a new waterpark under construction at the South Seas resort on Captiva.<\/p>\n

Photo by Steffania Pifferi<\/p>\n

But that was all part of the plan from the get-go. \u201cWe liked that it gave us an opportunity to really kind of dig in on it,\u201d says Spencer. \u201cWe weren\u2019t just buying a parcel and competing against five other parcels up and down the street. It felt like a property that deserved a lot of capital, and not just physical capital, but also emotional and intellectual capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt we had the team and tools to really try to get South Seas back to the grandeur that it was,\u201d he continues. \u201cIn the late 1970s and early \u201980s it was a big deal. It was kind of revolutionary at the time. You had a lot of smaller mom-and-pop operations up and down the coast of Florida, but South Seas was one of the true first master-planned resorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been easy. The resort took a major beating from 2022\u2019s Hurricane Ian, and two more from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. But its leisure business has bounced back, with occupancy around 95% the first week of March 2026. Group reservations are taking a little longer to come back, but Spencer hopes all the resiliency investments like backup generators, flood barriers and floating docks at the marina will give businesses and other groups peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Rising tide<\/p>\n

Strong hurricanes and coastal flooding, off course, are a reality in these parts that\u2019s not going away. \u201cTo build beachfront on our property, we now have to have the first floor at 20 feet above sea level,\u201d says Spencer. \u201cChange is scary, but why continue just to build back what existed so you\u2019re offline two or three years after every hurricane? They\u2019re not going to stop coming, so what are you doing to limit the amount of damage?\u201d<\/p>\n

And travelers these days want amenities like Captiva Landing. Spencer points to Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys, which could be considered a competitor of South Seas, that is building a water park amenity like Captiva Landing. \u201cThe reality is the resort was dying on the vine,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was great in the 1970s, but it wasn\u2019t current.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The water park opened late last year.<\/p>\n

Photo by Nick Adams<\/p>\n

At this point, accommodations at South Seas consist of more than 300 third party\u2013owned condos around the property, as well as several luxury \u201cHomes of Distinction\u201d available for rent. (The overall South Seas property includes a range of privately owned villas, condominiums, and single-family homes, some of which are available for rent and some of which are private residences.) Booking official South Seas rental inventory provides guests full access to all of the amenities at the resort, which ownership has collectively dubbed \u201cClub Captiva.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guests can still rent through outside rental companies, but they don\u2019t have access to Club Captiva amenities and programming. South Seas owners who choose not to rent their homes can become members of Club Captiva (for an initiation fee) and timeshare owners can opt in to join the resort\u2019s Club Captiva to have full use of the amenities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The South Seas ownership group has made the case that when the resort is fully completed per their plan, it will generate $9.8 million in annual property tax revenues for local services like schools, roads, and emergency response; $7.2 million in annual tourist tax revenue that supports beaches and other community spaces; and 813 permanent resort jobs. Spencer also maintains guests will spread the economic impact to the shops, restaurants and attractions on Captiva and Sanibel Islands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI subscribe to the theory of all boats rise in a rising tide,\u201d he says. \u201cI wish more people subscribed to that; I think frankly we would all be getting on a lot better. We want to help raise the stature and traveler profile for all of Lee County, not just our property.\u201d<\/p>\n

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