2026-09-10 · 6 min read · Fort Myers
Fort Myers Council Approves State Grant to Rebuild Calusa Nature Center's Boardwalk
What Did Fort Myers City Council Approve for Calusa Nature Center?
Fort Myers City Council voted on September 8, 2026 to accept a $750,000 [verified: 2026-09-10 against Gulfshore Business] grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to rebuild the long-closed boardwalk at Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium, according to reporting published September 9, 2026 by Gulfshore Business. The boardwalk has been shut for years after wear and hurricane damage left it unsafe to use.
I am Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, and I sell across nine Southwest Florida markets including Fort Myers.
What Is Calusa Nature Center, and Why Does Its Boardwalk Matter?
Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium is a nonprofit environmental education facility on 105 acres off Ortiz Avenue, and Gulfshore Business's reporting describes it as containing Fort Myers' largest open green space. The center runs wildlife exhibits and environmental education programs on the preserve, alongside its planetarium.
The boardwalk was the walkway that let visitors move on foot through the preserve itself, over wetland ground that would otherwise be difficult or damaging to cross directly. With it closed, a meaningful stretch of the property has effectively been off limits to the public, even though the center around it has stayed open.
Why Has the Boardwalk Been Closed, and What Is Actually Being Rebuilt?
Scale and age are both part of the story. Gulfshore Business reported the boardwalk runs 1,776 feet and was originally built in the 1970s, and that it has been closed following years of wear combined with hurricane-related damage. Rebuilding a structure of that length through wetland terrain is a materially bigger project than patching a short section of decking.
The $750,000 [verified: 2026-09-10 against Gulfshore Business] construction grant is not the first money the city has put toward this. In June 2026, City Council separately approved a $98,000 [verified: 2026-09-10 against Gulfshore Business] professional services agreement with EnSite Inc. covering planning, permitting and administrative work on the project, according to the same reporting. That contract was the groundwork; this month's grant is what pays for building it.
What Happens Next, and When Could the Boardwalk Reopen?
That part is not yet confirmed. Gulfshore Business's reporting on the council's approval did not include a construction start date or an expected completion date, and no city official is quoted putting a timeline on the project in that reporting. What is confirmed is that the funding is now in place and the planning and permitting work is already under contract, which is a real step from where the project stood as recently as this summer.
It is worth holding that distinction plainly rather than filling in the gap with a guess: a council vote to accept a grant is not the same as a construction schedule, and this article will not invent one. Anyone who wants a firm reopening date should watch for the city's own announcement once construction is actually scheduled.
What Does This Mean If You Own Property Near Calusa Nature Center or Are Looking in Fort Myers?
Nobody can honestly say what a rebuilt nature trail does to nearby property values, and be skeptical of anyone who tells you otherwise this early. What the grant does confirm is that a piece of Fort Myers' public green space is moving from closed and deteriorating toward an actual funded rebuild, which is one more data point in a mainland market that already offers considerably more land and more established tree canopy than the coastal markets for the same money.
Fort Myers sits inland of the barrier islands, along the Caloosahatchee rather than directly on the Gulf, which is part of why it draws buyers looking for more property and a different pace than the beach markets. Fort Myers waterfront homes and Fort Myers new construction cover the two ends of that stock in more detail.
How Should You Weigh News Like This If You Are Buying or Selling in Fort Myers?
As one confirmed step, not as a signal to move faster or slower on a specific decision. A grant approval is real, and it is also several steps removed from a finished, reopened boardwalk that residents can actually walk again.
The things that actually decide what a property costs to buy, insure and keep in this area rarely make the news at all: flood zone, elevation, what a survey turns up, and what the specific parcel is zoned for. The home buying process covers where each of those gets checked before you are under contract.
If you are weighing a property near the nature center, or anywhere else across the nine markets I cover including Fort Myers gated communities, get in touch or call (239) 300-1427 for a straight read on that address rather than the market in general.