Catching up with Fort Myers Beach rebuilding efforts and FEMA’s code restrictions

While waiting to see how much the fight to preserve most of Lee County’s 25% flood insurance discount will turn out, WINK News found that nowhere is the proximity of moving forward and moving out so intertwined as Fort Myers Beach.

“Having these buildings built to these codes we were able to recover a lot faster than most,” said Bill Waichulis, the general manager of the Pink Shell on Fort Myers Beach.

Walking block by block on the beach, you will see a mix of progress, success and struggle, with many somewhere struck in the middle.

WINK News toured it all from the air and on the ground as FEMA and the town tries to figure out how to move forward with flood insurance.

While keeping an eye out to uncover who’s breaking the re-building rules, the extremes can stand out.

“It was a game save for us,” said Waichulis.

At the Pink Shell, the latest building codes, including putting the lobby “18-and-a-half feet up,” saved the building.

WINK News anchor Chris Cifatte asked Bill where the waterline was.

“We had about 18-and-a-half feet of storm surge here, and it was literally just cresting right to where you and I are standing,” said Waichulis. “The waterfall was completely submersed in the seawater.”

The building was OK because they had breakaway walls on the ground, as the code requires.

“They did what they were supposed to do, which was breakaway and let the water flow through rather than causing more damage to the structure of the building,” said Waichulis.

Next door was a different story.

“They’re walking up and down the beach, and this is what they’re seeing from a disaster standpoint,” said Waichulis.

Down the street and stuck somewhere in the middle are neighborhoods with roads like Anchorage Street as anything but uncommon.

The day Chris was there, a street you easily see from beginning to end, about half the houses had some form of permit issue.

They are streets with older homes that many people love, but they also contain streets where people are mightily struggling.

An example of what’s supposed to be happening there can be seen on Madera Road. It’ll break your heart, but nobody’s trying to rebuild it flat on the ground.

It’s a home that used to be one-story, but they’re complying with the 50/50 rule and raising the house up.

WINK News scrolled through the town’s website and found dozens of houses that either had or have permitting issues.

You could see evidence that the town is working to resolve them.

It’s likely we won’t find out how successful they are until the FEMA flap is finished.

“Any little bit helps when you’re trying to rebuild and start over again…” Gary Lee pointed out.

Lee may be one of the luckiest guys around.

“I’m just grateful,” Lee said.

Lee loves his job at the Pink Shell. He had a house on Sanibel but sold it right before Hurricane Ian.

It was 14 feet up on stilts and did OK for the new owner.

However, Lee’s new place is not on stilts.

“But it’s not in a flood zone, and it fared excellent through the storm,” he said.

Nevertheless, his bosses pointed to the need to build better.

“We had small cottages from the ’50s… I don’t even know where they are now… they’re gone,” said Waichulis.

But both men, and so many of us, know that means the pain of being priced out of the house you used to call home.

“There’s no doubt rebuilding or going up is expensive,” said Waichulis. “It’s a tough time even if you want to sell your home to get because of interest rates, so it’s a challenge right now.”

It’s a challenge that will change lives and change the look and feel of Southwest Florida.

“They say it was the 10,000-year storm and that it felt like it,” said Waichulis.

WINK News tried talking with the town of Fort Myers Beach and specifically code enforcement, but they didn’t return our calls.