"I ask you to remember that people moved to this area for a specific type of lifestyle and that does not include a seven-story hotel, and beach area lost to people who don't live here."
Joseph Glenn lives near the Yacht Club. He said that at the Cape Coral City Council workshop on September 23, 2026. Other speakers named what they wanted back on Driftwood Parkway: a community center, a pool, parking, a beach and public access, like the park that stood there before Hurricane Ian took out the pier, the marina and most of the buildings. Council then reached a consensus to start talks with KMB Marine and its operating affiliate, Yacht Clubs of the Americas, on a public-private partnership to rebuild the park.
Ian hit Southwest Florida on September 28, 2022, and Monday marks four years. Look at the list the speakers gave and much of it already exists again. It just isn't at the Yacht Club. The riverfront walk, the kayak launch, the public docks, a swimming beach and a food truck by the water have been rebuilt across Jaycee Park, Tropicana Park and Crystal Lake Park. What they haven't rebuilt is a public pool and a community center. Those two pieces are what the Yacht Club negotiation is really about.
What is actually open on Driftwood Parkway right now
The beach. Florida Weekly reported in late July 2026 that the beach area is open to the public while construction continues around it. Almost everything else is still in a permit, design or funding stage.
- Fishing pier: The design was finished in January 2026, pending environmental review. The city's latest pier update says federal consultations were still underway in August 2026, and it gives no opening date.
- Marina work: The city issued a limited Notice to Proceed for Marine Phase 1 on December 18, 2025. That roughly $22 million phase covers removing the old docks, replacing seawalls, relocating the boat ramps, dredging and reconfiguring the marina.
- Phase 2: In May 2026, council told staff to move ahead with the fuel system, civil site work and beach amenities. The same update says council has not chosen a funding source for the project.
- The Boathouse Grill & Tiki Bar: A fire in October 2024 left the building beyond repair. The city signed an agreement on September 5, 2025 for the Boathouse to return to the site, and the damaged building was torn down later that month.
- Food trucks: The city's March 2026 update says two food truck vendors were approved and a location was being worked out with Wright Construction. The city hasn't named the vendors.
For now, a Yacht Club visit is a beach visit.
The river boardwalk moved to SE 20th Place
The closest thing to the old Yacht Club riverfront is Jaycee Park at 4215 SE 20th Place. It reopened April 30, 2026 after a full renovation. The new park has a lighted riverfront boardwalk and overlook, walkways with cooling misters, a large inclusive playground, adult changing stations, a 5,000-square-foot splash pad, shaded picnic areas, a bandshell, cornhole, pool and shuffleboard tables, and beach volleyball courts.
Jaycee also has longer hours than the rest of the city's parks. Most Cape Coral parks close at sunset. Jaycee is open daily from sunrise to 9 p.m., so its lighted boardwalk works as an after-dinner walk on the river well after other parks have closed.
Food by the water has started here too, on a trial basis. Starting August 14, a food truck, a drink truck and a dessert truck set up at the court on the south side of the park, open Friday through Sunday evening. The weekend lineup was scheduled to run through September. A permanent concession is still undecided. The Kearns Group withdrew its concession proposal on June 6, and the city says City Council will decide future food and beverage plans at a later date. October weekends could look different from September ones, so check the city's Jaycee page before you go.
Tropicana Park took over the docks and paddling
The Yacht Club's boat ramps and docks are part of the Phase 1 marine rebuild. In the meantime, Tropicana Park at 4101 Tropicana Parkway W has become the city's newest place to put a small boat in the water. It opened with a public ribbon cutting on May 29, 2026. The park has three public floating docks, an accessible kayak launch, boat trailer parking, an observation deck, a beach, and a 0.27-mile walking path with a boardwalk.
If you fish, know the rules. Fishing is allowed from the docks and the shoreline but not from the beach, the swimming area or the observation deck.
The dock question that stalled at the June opening is now settled. Council had deadlocked on the Cape Coral Rowing Club's request. In August it approved the club's license 6–1. The license runs ten years with renewal options, carries a $10 annual use fee, and allows rowing education, training, camps and classes. The docks stay open to the general public under the agreement.
The swimming beach moved inland
The Yacht Club beach sits on the Caloosahatchee. The newer beach sits on a lake. Crystal Lake Park opened in July 2025 around a 45-acre lake. It has a beach, a hilltop lookout, picnic pavilions, walking paths, a playground, fitness stations, and a launch for boats, kayaks and canoes.
Sirenia Vista Park is older and still worth adding to a paddling weekend. The eight-acre environmental park has a kayak launch, manatee-viewing areas, a walking path, a fishing area and birding.
Here is how the old Yacht Club uses line up with where you can find them this fall.
| What the Yacht Club used to offer | Where it is this fall | Status as of late September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Riverfront walk | Jaycee Park boardwalk and overlook | Open, sunrise to 9 p.m. |
| Food by the water | Jaycee Park food truck court | Weekend trucks since Aug. 14; permanent operator undecided |
| Boat ramps and docks | Tropicana Park floating docks and kayak launch | Open |
| Swimming beach | Yacht Club beach, Tropicana Park, Crystal Lake Park | All three open |
| Fishing pier | Tropicana docks and shoreline | Yacht Club pier waiting on federal review |
| Public pool | No city replacement in the research | Yacht Club pool plans complete, unfunded |
| Community center | No city replacement in the research | Design stage |
Festival Park is the new event ground
Festival Park at 2609 NW 11th Court fills a different gap: open space for crowds. It opened August 14, 2026 with festival grounds, a walking path, Seahawk Airfield, and two artificial-turf and two natural-grass soccer fields. Early coverage mentioned ten fields. The city's project map shows six more fields planned beyond the four open now, so ten is the full buildout. The city still lists the concessions and restroom building as a future amenity. Gulf Coast News reported that Latino Fest, planned for November, would be the park's first event.
Next on the list is Yellow Fever Creek Preserve. The city's July 2026 update put construction at 99 percent. Repairs needed for occupancy and final safety inspections still come before it can open, and no date has been set.
What the pool and community center are waiting on
Look back at the table. Once the beach, docks and boardwalk are covered elsewhere, the Yacht Club's remaining jobs are its most expensive ones. The 2024 master plan estimated the community center at $45 million, a parking garage at $35 million, and a resort-style pool at $11 million, with estimates still climbing. New docks came in at about $12 million. Plans for the pool, the lifeguard building and the parking garage were finished by January 2026. The money was the missing piece.
That gap is where the private proposals came in. The two unsolicited proposals council reviewed both included a hotel. One paired it with recreational amenities and townhomes. The other paired it with a community and convention center and a parking garage. Both included a marina rebuild and public access to the riverfront. Councilmember Joe Kilraine framed his support around the tax base: "Residents are paying 92% of taxes here. We are trying to reduce that by increasing commercial." Councilmember Dr. Derrick Donnell called the seven-story hotel "a nonstarter." The September 23 consensus lets city staff sit down with KMB Marine and work out project details. The design is not final yet.
Here's what's on the city calendar this fall at the parks that are open:
- October 1, 9 a.m.: Community Park Walk at Tropicana Park.
- November 6, 5:30 p.m.: Sunset & S'mores at Tropicana Park.
- November: Latino Fest at Festival Park, per Gulf Coast News. No exact date was published.
The October and November city calendars list no events at the Yacht Club or Sirenia Vista.
If you live near the Yacht Club or one of these new parks, it helps to know what's being built, what's funded and what's still under negotiation. Lindsey Moffat follows the Yacht Club talks and the park openings across Cape Coral, and she's happy to talk through what they mean for your part of town. Let's Connect.
