Cape Coral’s Yacht Club Community Park to shut down for improvements

A popular spot in Cape Coral will soon close its doors for two years. The Cape Coral Yacht Club says their entire Yacht Club Community Park will shut down in April to allow construction.

Two years seems like a long time, and people who spoke with WINK News were pretty disappointed to find out that the yacht club and all of its amenities will be closed throughout all of the construction.

The residents also know that what’s to come could be a great addition to the city.

People come to the Cape Coral Yacht Club for the quiet beach.

It is also the only one that doesn’t take 45 minutes to an hour to get to if you live in Cape Coral. Jill Brink, who owns a home in Cape Coral, knows this all too well.

“We always promote this for our guests. It’s a great place for families. It’s a great place that you don’t have to pay for parking or tolls. When we bring our family down here, this is the first place we go because it’s family-friendly and it’s close,” said Brink.

The people here are soaking up all the sun they can before the beach closes in April for the next two years. The pool, the boat ramp, tennis courts, and marina will all shut down.

The only thing that will stay open for business is the boathouse.

“As we progressed throughout the project, and the scope of that grew, such that we needed to replace all the docks, all the sea walls, we’re building a three-story, parking garage, a new harbormaster building, the restrooms out on the beach are being replaced, and the beach itself is growing, the boat ramp is being moved. So as that scope became clear, then it became obvious to staff that the best situation here for all parties is to basically closed it,” said Cape Coral’s Interim Public Works Director Michael Ilczyszyn.

The city’s public works director said heavy cranes and construction equipment could be dangerous if they kept the beach open during the project.

Something people who enjoy this view wish didn’t have to happen. “I wish there was some way to be able to keep the beach open and be able to still do the work and do it in sections instead of shutting it down for the whole two years,” said Debbie.

The shutdown would save the project four months in construction time and at least $340,000, but those savings could increase once the bid goes out, and a construction company gets started.

The overall project is expected to cost about $37 million. The voter-approved GO bond funds are part of that.