City hopes to have potential Yacht Club partner proposals by month’s end
COW Yacht Club Staff Presentation CIP REV1 (1)
By the end of the month, Cape Coral City Council will learn if there are any potential private parters for the multi-million dollar rebuild of the Cape Coral Yacht Club.
Faced with escalating costs, the city issued a request for information last month to seek potential private capital business entities.
Councilmember Rachel Kaduk asked Council Wednesday to consider asking Kimley Horne to provide different costs for a phased-in approach to the rebuild.
“We have done two RFI total since our city manager has been a city manager,” Kaduk said, adding that if nothing comes from the Yacht RFI the city is starting from scratch.
She said residents want the Yacht Club up and running, which is why she wants to give staff direction to ask Kimley Horne on how they can phase in the various aspects of the project and make it affordable for all residents.
The council took a consensus with only council members Kaduk, Jennifer Nelson-Lastra and Keith Long in favor of looking into the phased-in approach.
With more in favor of staying the course, the elected board will wait for the RFI results later this month with a discussion to be had in March.
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn recommended that council wait for the RFI because there may be some phasing of the project included that they would not have to discuss.
Nelson-Lastra asked why they could not do both – the RFI and the phased approach. She said they could be working simultaneously with the end game the same – accomplish with a phased approach.
“The hours we spend with our consultants are not free,” Ilczyszyn said.
Long said the city is at a point where they need to take some action, rather than kicking the can. He said with doing the phased approach they are exploring any and all opportunities.
Mayor John Gunter agreed that the phased in approach is definitely a possibility, but said they need to go through the RFI first and see what that brings. He said if it does not bring any interest back, or a portion of interest, it will provide the council with a better-informed decision on how to move forward.
“The intent was to take all the responses we get and categorize them into different buckets,” Ilczyszyn said, adding that the RFI could also result in no interest.
The Cape Coral Yacht Club at the end of Driftwood Parkway was the city’s oldest park, donated by the community’s founders. Its historic ballroom was damaged by Hurricane Ian and the rest of the complex, which included a pier, pool marina, riverside beach and more was destroyed as was the popular and privately operated Boathouse Tiki Bar & Grill.
The city decided to raze the park and rebuild with a new vision — a resort-style destination to include a community center, resort-style pool, new marina, four-story parking garage and more. In October, the cost was estimated at $225 million, not including a new pier.
Editor’s note: We have replaced the project rendition with an updated image. We also have added the staff Cape Club presentation from the Oct. 15, 2025 workshop.
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