Future of Fort Myers/Sanibel Resorts

[GTLINZ]

We drove up Estero island late last year and it still looked like a war zone. It is going to be a long recovery.

 

[Skyyblueplaya]

Unfortunately Still waiting for a lot of these places to bounce back, even more damage from the last 2 hurricanes, Milton and Helene.

 

[theo]

Estero Island Beach Club's latest submission for proposed reconstruction has been denied (yesterday) by the Town Council on Fort Myers Beach by a 4-1 vote, killing their newest proposal from any further advancement. This newest proposal, albeit aesthetically very pleasing, was for a 10 story building where zoning allows for only 3 stories.
This new proposal never really had a snowbal's chance in Hades for town approval at that height (IMnsHO, anyhow).

EIBC can return to submit an entirely different proposal, but I personally just can't see how they can successfully pound a "square peg" (...replacing all 75 units lost, plus providing pool(s) and parking) into a round hole (...a much smaller available footprint now than existed for construction before Hurricane Ian).

I'm not a gambler. If I was, my bet would be on EIBC owners ultimately throwing in the towel on this, voting to terminate the timeshare plan and sell the property (which is currently nothing but a vacant lot of sand after post-Ian demolition). Two more hurricanes in recent weeks (Helene and Milton) might also be providing some "food for thought" to some owners of FMB Gulf-front property, on a narrow barrier island that has now been hammered hard by 3 meaningful hurricanes in less than 2 years.
I guess only time will tell...

 

[dioxide45]

(...a much smaller available footprint now than existed for construction before Hurricane Ian).

Why is the footprint smaller now? Was some of the land washed away?