"Without the hotel, what is their investment?"
Councilmember Rachel Kaduk asked that question at the Sept. 23 workshop, when Cape Coral City Council took up two unsolicited public-private partnership proposals for the Yacht Club Community Park. She was asking whether the developer that city staff recommended would still want the project if the hotel came out. In her framing, the community center would run as a subsidy and the hotel would be the money maker, as the Cape Coral Breeze reported.
Her question explains where the Yacht Club now stands. Talks with a private partner would cover the marina and the hotel. Under the proposal council moved forward, the pool, the public boat ramps and the civil site work would still be city expenses. As of the city's latest project update, council had not settled how to pay for the city's side.
What Council Actually Decided on Sept. 23
Council reached a consensus to let city staff start working out details with KMB Marine and its operating affiliate, Yacht Clubs of the Americas. The competing proposal came from the Yacht Club Development Group and Forest Development. According to the Breeze, most council members said neither proposal was ideal. Two members were not part of the consensus.
The meeting nearly didn't happen. The day before, the Forest and YCDG team sent council a letter asking for a deferral. They wanted time for what they called an "apples-to-apples" comparison of city revenue, parking, capital investment and the community center, per the Breeze's same-day report. Council went ahead with the discussion anyway.
A workshop consensus doesn't commit the city to anything. The Breeze noted that these votes give staff direction and are non-binding on any particular project or plan. Mayor John Gunter described the step as moving the discussion from a "30,000-foot level view" to something more specific. Any final terms would come in a comprehensive agreement negotiated later. That is also where the city manager said resident protections would be written in.
Who Would Pay for Which Piece
The two proposals divide the costs in different ways. In both, the private side pays for the boats, rooms and parking that earn money. The public side keeps much of what a family would use on a Saturday.
| Piece of the park | KMB Marine / Yacht Clubs of the Americas | Forest Development / YCDG |
|---|---|---|
| Marina | 130 wet slips, 35 with lifts, funded by KMB and its capital partners | 121 or more wet slips, docks and boardwalks privately funded |
| Hotel | Six- or seven-story, 125-room hotel through Bowden Hospitality | Four-star resort-style hotel |
| Parking | 685-space garage | Structured parking, described by the proposers as free self-parking |
| Community center | Combined with a convention and event center | Stand-alone, which the proposers say could move ahead apart from the hotel |
| Housing | None | Waterfront townhomes |
| Left to the city | Public boat ramps, civil site work, resort pool | Fuel tanks, pool complex, beach reconstruction, seawalls, roads, utilities |
| Land terms | 99-year concession lease, city keeps ownership of land and improvements | 99-year lease with options to purchase fee simple |
KMB puts its marina investment at $30 million to $33 million. The hotel is estimated separately at $53 million to $83 million to build. The Forest and YCDG proposal lists an estimated total build cost of $250 million.
Staff based its recommendation on several factors. One was modeled economic output: $48.85 million from KMB's $33 million construction input, compared with $29.61 million from a $20 million construction input on the Forest and YCDG side. Staff also cited that KMB would not acquire any real property.
Councilmember Bill Steinke explained his preference in practical terms. He said the townhome plan removes the trailer parking needed for launching boats and puts the launch back "in harm's way." Gunter said the city had already moved the ramp inland into the harbor as a safer launch spot and that it was being built. That ramp is one of the items KMB's proposal expects the city to pay for.
Why a Hotel Is in the Plan at All
The hotel was not part of council's vision for the Yacht Club. In January, the city put out a Request for Information to see what it would take to shift some of the rebuild debt. The rebuild covered amenities residents had asked for through the Parks and Recreation master plan. The RFI closed in February with no responses. The unsolicited proposals came after that, Forest and YCDG's in March and KMB's in May.
Council members described the hotel in different ways. Councilmember Dr. Derrick Donnell called the seven-story hotel "a nonstarter for me." Councilmember Joe Kilraine framed the project around the tax base. He said residents pay 92% of the city's taxes and that he supports major commercial development to bring that share down. Councilmember Jennifer Nelson-Lastra said she did not want to watch the property sit as it is, and she favored KMB because it fits the plan council had already approved.
Most of the public comment that morning opposed the hotel and townhome pieces at the riverside park on Driftwood Parkway. According to the Breeze, speakers wanted something close to what stood there before Hurricane Ian: a community center, a pool, parking, a beach and public access. Speakers also said that kind of development would serve visitors more than residents and would add traffic.
Assistant City Manager Mark Mason gave staff's view. In his reading, KMB stays closer to council's concept for the core marina and parking and departs from it with the hotel and the event center combined with a community center.
What Is on the Site Right Now
While the negotiation runs, work on the ground follows the city's own phasing. The city's Yacht Club project page gives this sequence:
- October 2024. A fire destroyed the Boathouse Tiki Bar & Grill building beyond repair.
- Sept. 5, 2025. The city signed an agreement for the Boathouse to return to the site. Council gave final approval Sept. 17, and demolition finished in late September 2025.
- Dec. 18, 2025. The city issued a limited notice to proceed for Yacht Club Marine Phase 1.
- March 2026. Procurement approved two food truck vendors. Parks worked with Wright Construction on where the trucks would park.
- May 2026. Council directed staff to move ahead with Phase 2, which covers the fuel system, civil site work and beach amenities. The update also says council has not yet determined a funding source for the project.
Florida Weekly reported that Phase 1 is an estimated $22 million phase. It covers removing the old docks, replacing seawalls, relocating the boat ramps, and dredging and reconfiguring the marina. The paper also reported that the city's communications office confirmed Phase 2 construction had not begun.
Here is what a resident can use or expect in the meantime:
- The beach. The city reopened Yacht Club Beach on Nov. 11, 2023, open daily from sunrise to sunset. Florida Weekly reported that the beach stays open to the public while construction continues. Portable restroom trailers have been on site.
- Food trucks. The Breeze reported in March that the two approved vendors were a gelato truck and a lemonade truck, and that the city was still drafting the concession agreements at the time.
- The Boathouse. Kearns Restaurant Group, which owns The Boat House in Fort Myers along with Izzy's Fish and Oyster and Capone's Coal-fired Pizza downtown, told Florida Weekly that "our restaurant rebuild in Cape Coral will have a definite tiki bar vibe."
The Yacht Club Development Group led the P3 proposal that staff did not recommend. Its letter says it holds a 30-year concession with the city to run the full-service restaurant, bar and fuel services at the Yacht Club, after more than 13 years operating The Boathouse. KMB's proposal also includes a two-story waterfront restaurant. The negotiation will have to settle how those two fit together on one waterfront.
Where the Southeast Cape Gathers This Season
The Yacht Club is still mostly construction fencing. In the meantime, the city's holiday calendar on this side of town centers on Bimini Basin and Four Freedoms Park.
Sunset Fest comes back to Four Freedoms Park on Wednesday, Dec. 16, and again on Feb. 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. It's free and features food trucks, vendors and live music. The city is still recruiting vendors at 239-574-0804.
The Holiday Boat-a-Long is Saturday, Dec. 19, from 4 to 9 p.m. at Four Freedoms Park. The free event has entertainment, food trucks, crafts, Santa, a boat parade along Bimini Basin and a movie. Details are on the city's event page.
The next public step for the Yacht Club is a negotiated comprehensive agreement with KMB Marine. That agreement would come back to council and would spell out what the city still owes and when. Meeting agendas and video are posted on the City Clerk's page.
The Yacht Club work is mostly seawalls, docks and site work, and that is the same kind of construction I evaluate when helping clients with waterfront homes across Cape Coral. If you live near Driftwood Parkway and want a calm, practical read on how a long marine rebuild tends to affect the streets around it, Fernando Daza is glad to talk it through in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.
