Lighthouse Beach Park reopening photo by Adventures in Paradise
Lighthouse Beach Park photo by ABC-7
Work in progress at Ocean’s Reach!
New materials are coming in every day
A view that never gets old!
“Not perfect, but still paradise,” as our local Chamber of Commerce likes to say. An ideal way of recapping where we are nine months after Hurricane Ian hit with ferocious intensity and the enormous amount of work since to rebuild our much-loved destination.
Our on-island public beaches have now fully reopened, with the celebration two weeks ago of the much anxiously-awaited access to Lighthouse Beach Park. Visitors can now have a close-up view of our iconic 1884 lighthouse that lost one of its legs withstanding the storm. It’s become the symbol of our island’s resiliency, strength, hope and recovery.
There is still work to be done, as a new permanent leg for the lighthouse has to be fabricated and the park’s popular fishing pier has yet to reopen (no timeline yet as to when those will be completed).
Pictured above is the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which drew official representatives, residents, workers and visitors from up to five hours away. (Note that the biodegradable confetti was picked up by our terrific city staff members immediately afterwards.)
“This is yet another milestone we celebrate,” said Richard Johnson, mayor of Sanibel. “The islands are back in business! We welcome guests back to visit our island retailers and eateries while enjoying the shelling, sun, sand, and surf of our award-winning beaches.”
At last count, 24 restaurants have re-opened on Sanibel and Captiva Islands, allowing guests to come visit and support our rebounding business community.
At Ocean’s Reach, we are continuing to work diligently at rebuilding our treasured complex. Our biggest news is that we should — at long last — have electricity again by next week! We are also awaiting some final important votes from our OR owner base. Combined, we hope that we’ll soon be able to proceed to the core of our rebuilding plans and have a better idea of when in 2024 we will be able to officially re-open.
Until next time, Andy is also sending on photos from the latest work in progress … along with the “view that never gets old” from Unit 4D3!
