Demolition of the buildings at the historic Cape Coral Yacht Club began Wednesday. The Tony Rotino Center was among the first major structures to go. The building was named for the former Cape Coral City Council member. Rotino served from 1978-1994, a total of 16 years. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL

Structures at Cape Coral’s Yacht Club Community Park began to come down Wednesday, a first step city leaders say will lead to a new focal-point destination.

The Tony Rotino Center, named for the city’s longest-tenured council member, was the first major structure to be demolished.

It was a sad day for historians and Cape “pioneers.”

“Are they going to name something else for him,” Linda Biondi, vice president of the Cape Coral Museum of History, said of the Tony Rotino Center, or is it just going to go away? “I hope they do something — I hope they remember people like Tony Rotino. I hope they figure that out.”

Biondi said from a historical point of view, she thinks cities need to have history.

“I think the Yacht Club was history. The Rosen Brothers gave it to the city for the residents to enjoy as a community center, a beach, places where people could gather and meet and just enjoy the atmosphere,” she said.

A resident of 34 years, she said she remembers the Yacht Club being such a cool place to go — sit on the pier, watch families fish, swim at the pool, and take classes, sit with a cup of coffee in the morning, or watch the sunset.

“I think those days are gone, but not forgotten,” Biondi said. “These things are our history. We have no history in the city because they keep knocking it down. Other places, they rebuild them because that is their history. We are such a young city. This is our history. It will be gone.”

According to city spokesperson Kaitlyn Mullen, the structural demolition began April 10 and is expected to take about two to three weeks. The additional time will be to demo building pads and foundations.

“Demolition is anticipated to take about a month and a half — it should be done around the end of May,” Mullen said.

According to the Yacht Club demolition construction schedule, the structural demolition will conclude on April 23, followed by 10 days of demo building pads and foundations.

The schedule includes backfill and compaction of foundations and the pool, final grading, removal of the temporary fencing on May 16 and May 17, survey of data collection for record as-build, and miscellaneous asphalt patching as needed.

According to the schedule the substantial completion and owner walk through will take place on Friday, May 24.

In February, the city of Cape Coral awarded a near $1 million contract to clear most of the acreage, including the demolition of the historic ballroom building.

The “piggyback” contract was awarded to Winter Haven-based Johnson-Laux Construction LLC in the amount of $987,716.04 with work to be completed in 60 days.

Cape Coral City Council has agreed to go coastal for the new design of the planned community center to replace the Yacht Club ballroom, heralded by historians for its mid-Century design.

The majority of the elected board opted for a “coastal vernacular feel” during their March workshop.

There were three design options on the table: The preferred option one with its Key West vibe; option two, intended to evoke the design of the current historic structure; and option three, a more modern look that received no support.

The revised Community Center floor plan now includes a total of 47,000 square feet, with the majority being on the first floor for 27,250 square feet and the remainder, 19,750, spread out on the second floor. The prior planned square footage was 37,000 square feet — 20,000 square feet on the first floor, and 17,000 square feet on the second.

The revised first-floor plan includes additional meeting space, storage and a small loading and receiving area on the side of the building. There is also more functional space on the pool deck and water.

The second floor is largely the same in terms of use. The ballroom has been shifted out and there is a large open area looking over the multipurpose room on the second floor.

The city has not yet said how much the new facility — to include a resort style pool, children’s pool, four-story parking garage, two new piers and upgraded grounds and marina — will cost.

Estimates have put it as high as $100 million with talks of a public-private partnership in the works to, perhaps, offset some of the costs, likely to be funded with revenue bonds.

Biondi asked what happens now — how many years will it take to build?

“How much is it going to cost to go down there, park, go to the resort style pool?” she said. “Will the pier be built soon to continue to fish and what is that going to cost?”

Biondi said the plan will be quite beautiful, but she did not think the riverfront site, dedicated by the community’s developers as a public meeting place and park, was meant to be a resort.

“It is not going to be the same. Everything there is not going to be the same. The ambiance of the area is going to change and will continue to change. You learn from then,” she said of history. “That is how people grow. They grow from their history and learn from their history.”