Naples/Fort Myers/Charlotte
Up from the ashes: Construction has officially kicked off at the Shalimar Beach Resort — nearly 18 months after it was destroyed during Hurricane Ian. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in Sanibel last week to mark the new project. The rebuilt resort will include a 27,334-square-foot, two-story building with 21 one-bedroom units as well as a 6,032- square-foot, two-story fourplex building with two one-bedroom units; two two-bedroom units; and four duplexes with one-bedroom cottages. Each building will be built over covered parking, says Fort Myers-based Stevens Construction, which is building the resort. In all, there will be 33 units as well as a lobby and a manger’s suite. It will be a total of 52,207 square feet. The Shalimar first opened in 1959. In an October 2022 Facebook post, the property’s owners described what happened when Ian hit, writing that “our entire property has been swept away in the storm surge, with most of our buildings coming to rest in heaps on West Gulf Drive and in streets beyond.” It promised at the time to rebuild old-Florida style cottages on the property rather than condos. “Just much stronger and better, of course!”