Kahlua Beach Club receives approval from town council for restoration project
The Kahlua Beach Club received approval from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a special exception permit that will allow the owners to restore part of their resort property that was damaged by Hurricane Ian.
The approval by the council followed unanimous recommendation of approval from the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency.
The special exception permit will give the owners, formally known as Kahlua Beach Club Condo Timeshare, the ability to restore recreational elements for their condo association in the environmentally critical area. The restoration includes two chiki huts, the shuffleboard area, paver pool decks and fencing along the existing seawall portions in the environmentally critical zone.
Jim Ink of Ink Engineering said the special exception permit was needed due to the location of the property in the town’s environmentally critical zone. He said the permit should be granted due to the circumstances of Hurricane Ian and that Kahlua Beach Club is an older condo building constructed before the town incorporated. Kahlua Beach Club is a private resort with rooms that are individually owned as timeshares on a weekly basis.
The 27-unit resort, which dates back to before the incorporation of the town, is located mid-island on about three-quarters of an acre at 4950 Estero Boulevard, near Publix.
“What this will do, will allow us to put back what we had with some minor geometric differences,” Ink said. Ink said one of the cheeky huts will be slightly larger in square footage and the pool will be slightly different in size.
The resort incurred major damage from Hurricane Ian and its owners have been working on repairs ever since. Ink said the owners will also need permits from the state for the restoration of its pool and other work in the town’s environmentally critical zone.
The Kahlua Owners’ Association was formed in 1978 and the building dates back to 1969.