New Fort Myers Beach Coast Guard facility ribbon cutting ceremony

Reporter: Annalise Iraola
Published: Updated:
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New Fort Myers Beach Coast Guard facility. CREDIT: WINK News

The new Coast Guard facility on Fort Myers Beach is up and running.

The people tasked with keeping Southwest Florida waterways safe will get to work at their new building.

Hurricane Maria damaged the previous facility in 2018 before it was demolished in 2022.

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Old US Coast Guard facility getting demolished. CREDIT: WINK News

Hurricane Ian set back the opening, but they’re back home and ready to serve our Southwest Florida community.

But now, after a lot of work, the Fort Myers Beach Coast Guard is back home.

“Today is a great day,” said Christopher Cone, the commanding officer with the Fort Myers Beach US Coast Guard station. “Over the past couple of years, we have moved several times, due to Hurricane Ian, back and forth from the initial phase of construction to tear down the building to this beautiful 21,000-square-foot building.”

WINK News spoke with Rear Admiral Amy Grable, and Cone about the new facilities and how its better equipped to handle severe weather.

“This building is built to withstand 181 MPH winds to protect it against future storm damage. It’s floodproof… the materials that were used are meant to withstand any sort of future storm,” said Grable.

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Constructing the new Fort Myers Beach Coast Guard facility. CREDIT: WINK News

Before Hurricane Ian hit, they were temporarily at Moss Marina. However, Hurricane Ian set their return to the building back by five to six months.

“It put me into a leadership stance where I knew I needed to take control of the crews and make sure that we got that out there and opened up the ports for the Verde public to get out there, so they can help their families off Sanibel and Bokelia islands,” said Cone.

The new building features new docks and a boat ramp that adds convenience and speed when responding to emergencies.

“We’ll be able to respond quicker because we’re right there instead of having to go all the way off Punta Rasa, fighting the 30 minutes to an hour traffic going through in-season,” said Cone.

There’s also a state-of-the-art kitchen to feed the service members that serve our communities.

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Ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Coast Guard facility. CREDIT: WINK News

Finally, the red ribbon was cut for the official opening and their return home.

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