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Beach at Four Freedoms?

By Staff | Dec 14, 2010

The city of Cape Coral is working toward making Four Freedoms Park into a public beach.
It’s one suggestion from the recently completed downtown Community Redevelopment Agency Vision Plan, which calls for a number of small, cost efficient, changes throughout the district that could add up to a significant change if completed, according to planner Bernard Zyscovich
Turning Four Freedoms riverfront ark into a usable public beach could cost the city very little, especially if the city can use beach and shoreline funds from Lee County for the project.
Beach and Shoreline funds are compiled through 1 cent bed sales tax, and can be used only for environmentally themed projects, although the Lee County Board of Commissioners recently redirected some of those funds to pay for the new Red Sox stadium.
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Pohlman told the CRA board Tuesday night that Cape Coral has not used any of those funds in quite a while.
“We haven’t used our share of the funds because we haven’t had a project on this side of the river for quite some time,” Pohlman said.
Pohlman added that he was “immediately” starting on the project, but whether the TDC funds would be available is unknown. The city would likely have to solicit those funds from the Tourism Development Council through a public process.
The city also would have to test the water to ensure it’s safe to swim in.
While just a preliminary conversation at this point, Pohlman said a beach at Four Freedoms would be a great addition to the city.
“We have a unique opportunity for a gathering place and a unique shoreline at Four Freedoms,” Pohlman said.
The CRA Board unanimously supported moving forward with the project.
If the project is successful, Four Freedom’s would be the city’s second river-front beach. The city has a well-established beach, with swimming, at the Yacht Club.