Bimini Basin development project making progress

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- An important meeting is the first step in deciding the fate of the Bimini Basin, near Four Freedoms Park.

Members of the community are drafting potential designs for the waterway with the help of a team from the University of South Florida.

For years people have been talking about building shops and restaurants along the waterfront, and it’s closer than ever to becoming a reality.

A group of stakeholders with a vested interest in the project will be voting on the designs they like best.

Forty-two specially chosen members of the community gathered in small groups to brainstorm ideas and draft designs.

“I’d like to see a combination of residential development and commercial development. Something that is probably 4 or 5 stories, not a real high rise,” said Joe Cervonie.

In September 2014, the city paid USF $50,000 to conduct a feasibility study.

The study’s conclusion? The area is poised for large scale development.

“There’s a lot of potential in the Bimini Basin area. It really could be a centerpiece for community activity, gathering, retail,” said USF researcher Taryn Sabia.

A team of USF architecture students were at Thursday’s meeting to help draw up designs to later be voted on. One of the many talked about potential changes that’s created controversy involves connecting the canals on either side of Cape Coral Parkway.

It would give more boaters access to the basin, but would require the construction of a bridge on the parkway. The USF research team is recommending the city consider other options.

“It’s definitely an expensive endeavor and it’s one that would take a significant amount of time, so there may be other ways to spend that money that may be more beneficial to the city,” said Sabia.

After the groups vote on the designs they like best, the team from USF will take those back to Tampa, put them together in a more detailed model, and will be back March 17th to present their designs.