City receives request to postpone today’s discussion on Yacht Club proposals
Deferral requested so there can be more review, public input, before council consensus requested by city staff
The Cape Coral City Council is scheduled to discuss two unsolicited proposals for the development of the Yacht Club Community Park on Wednesday.
One proposes the inclusion of a luxury hotel, recreational amenities and townhomes. The other proposes a hotel/community/convention center and parking garage.
Both include a rebuild of the marina and related facilities and public access to the riverfront.
Whether discussion on the competing proposals from Forest Development and the Yacht Club Development Group (YCDG) and KMB Marine and operating affiliate Yacht Clubs of the Americas (YCOA) commence, though, depends on how council responds to a request from the submitter who did not receive city staff’s recommendation to move forward to negotiations.
Zak Kearns, of YCDG, and Peter Baytarian, of Forest Development, sent a letter to council and staff on Tuesday afternoon requesting the scheduled agenda item be deferred.
“We were notified late Friday afternoon, September 18, that this item had been placed on the Committee of the Whole Agenda for Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Given the long-term significance of the Yacht Club property, we believe the proposals should be evaluated on an apples-to-apples basis, including projected City revenues, property-tax revenues, developer qualifications, capital investment, parking costs and availability, financial obligations, and other material contractual and operational terms,” the letter states. “We respectfully request that the Cape Coral Yacht Club Unsolicited P3 Proposals item be deferred from the Sept. 23, 2026 Committee of the Whole Agenda to allow sufficient time for the City, Committee of the Whole members, the competing proposers, and the public to review a comprehensive and consistent comparison of the proposals.”
The letter stated five “significant” differences that warrant further review: projected city revenue, public parking and amenities, capital investment, parking demand, and community center.
It further states that Forest/YCDG is prepared to work collaboratively with the city and Cape Coral residents through public neighborhood meetings to refine the site plan, architecture, aesthetics and other design elements.
“Our request is not intended to prevent consideration of either proposal. Rather, we respectfully request sufficient time for the financial, contractual, legal, operational, parking, and design considerations to be fully evaluated so that any subsequent discussion is based upon complete, accurate, and comparable information,” the letter states. “Based on the financial and operational information currently available, the Forest/YCDG proposal provides several significant benefits to the City and its residents, including substantially greater projected revenue to the City, NO Tax Abatement requested, free self-parking, free public use of the pier & beach, and a new public park for Cape Coral residents and visitors. The proposal also represents a substantially greater anticipated capital investment and provides for a stand-alone community center that can advance independently of the hotel.”
The initial Request for Information for the Yacht Club redevelopment had a due date of Feb. 12. It received no responses.
The unsolicited proposal for the development of the marina from Forest Development and YCDG was received in March with the required $25,000 payment.
“Yacht Club Development Group currently maintains a 30-year concessionaire agreement with the City of Cape Coral to operate the full-service restaurant, bar, and fuel services at the Cape Coral Yacht Club,” the letter of interest from Baytarian and Kearns states. “In addition, our team has maintained a longstanding and successful partnership with the city for more than 13 years through the operation of The Boathouse Tiki Bar & Grill, a full-service waterfront restaurant, bar, marina fuel dock, and destination gathering place that has become a cornerstone of the Yacht Club Distinct.”
Their proposal includes integrating a waterfront destination with key elements, such as activation of the marina with events and programming; a four-star luxury resort-style hotel; destination waterfront dining and hospitality; integration with the broader Cape Coral Yacht Club redevelopment; public waterfront access and recreational amenities; custom single-family townhomes; ship store; and additional waterfront marina restaurant operation.
Forest Development and YCDG would fund boardwalk construction; fixed and floating docks; a pump-out station; law enforcement dockage; harbormaster and marina operations facility; approximately 50% of fueling station costs; hotel; retail; parking; and automated boat storage, which is an estimated capital investment of more than $250,000,000.
Forest Development and YCDG is seeking a 99-year lease from the city with options to purchase fee simple; a waterfront hotel proposed under a separate 99-year ground lease with option to purchase fee simple; and hotel ground rent starting at the hotel’s opening to paying guests. The proposal also states public waterfront assets remain publicly owned through a long-term ground lease.
The other unsolicited proposal submitted by KMB Marine and Yacht Clubs of the Americas was received in May for the development of the marina, parking garage and harbor master building, which also includes the intent of adding a hotel/community/convention center later.
The letter of intent from KMB Marine and YCOA includes a redevelopment plan that will “reconstruct the slip harbor in accordance with the Kimley-Horn Master Plan, rebuild all boardwalks and floating docks, construct a new fueling station within our concession area, build a 685-space parking garage and build a new administration building with harbormaster offices, leasing offices, law enforcement facility, and ship store.”
The letter of interest stated that the estimated $30 to $33 million would be funded entirely by KMB Marine and its capital partners.
The scope includes 130 leasable wet slips, including 35 quipped with boat lifts; a parking garage; boardwalks and fixed docks; floating dock system; fueling station; a six- to seven-story 125-room hotel with Bowden Hospitality that includes an event annex; a two-story waterfront restaurant; administration building; law enforcement building and dockage; day-use and transient slips; pool complex; public boat ramps; North Canal slips and boardwalk; and staging slips and pump-out station.
KMB Marine and YCOA propose a 99-year long-term concession lease for construction, operation and maintenance of marina facilities; the city retains full ownership of all land and improvements at all times and all improvements constructed by KMB become city property at termination or expiration of the lease.
City staff recommends to move forward with KMB Marine and YCOA for negotiation. The recommendation is based on higher modeled IMPLAN total output — $48.85 million output from the $33 million construction input, compared with $29.61 million from Forest and YCDG’s $20 million construction input; KMB proposes no real property acquisition — city retains ownership of land and improvements; clearly defined marina scope; and revenue and protections identified.
The workshop will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in City Council chambers, at 1015 Cultural Park Blvd., Cape Coral.
The meeting is open to the public.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email mbradbury@breezenewspapers.com