Ian

[mumto3girls]

It really is. Or was. And I hope so too.

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I took pictures of my kids at the small seashell shop every trip. From 1999:

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To 2018:

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Your pictures brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for sharing! We vacationed on Sanibel for a lot of my childhood. I think the first year we stayed on Captiva and after that stayed at Sanibel Moorings every year—unit 711. I recognize the Shell Shop sign—that was there in the 80’s. Our extended family did a day trip there in 2003 on our way to somewhere else and stopped and walked around the Moorings. it had been years since we had been there. Still seemed the same. Great memories.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your pictures brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for sharing! We vacationed on Sanibel for a lot of my childhood. I think the first year we stayed on Captiva and after that stayed at Sanibel Moorings every year—unit 711. I recognize the Shell Shop sign—that was there in the 80’s. Our extended family did a day trip there in 2003 on our way to somewhere else and stopped and walked around the Moorings. it had been years since we had been there. Still seemed the same. Great memories.

So many memories. I loved the constancy of how it just stayed the same over time. My husband took regular trips there in his childhood and much was the same. Here's hoping they find a way to honor that past as they come back for the future. And yes, I need that "She Sells Seashells" sign to come back.

 

[mom2rtk]

Help is on the way to Sanibel. Temporary causeway access set up so power crews could get onto the island yesterday. This picture says it all.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Help is on the way to Sanibel. Temporary access set up yesterday to allow power crews onto the island. This picture says it all.View attachment 710187

That's nice to see....glad they'll be getting power back out there.

I've read so many heartbreaking stories the last week or so, mostly about retirees on fixed income or younger service/blue collar workers who are having to face the reality that they won't be able to stay. I knew that Ft. Meyers and Naples were a popular spot for retirees, but hadn't realized how many mobile home/older small ranch neighborhoods there were. Nearly every story I read talks about the overwhelming smell of mildew in these homes. They're total losses and most won't be rebuilt. I imagine that developers are salivating....about to buy up large swaths of land and build new larger homes...on stilts.

 

[mom2rtk]

That's nice to see....glad they'll be getting power back out there.

I've read so many heartbreaking stories the last week or so, mostly about retirees on fixed income or younger service/blue collar workers who are having to face the reality that they won't be able to stay. I knew that Ft. Meyers and Naples were a popular spot for retirees, but hadn't realized how many mobile home/older small ranch neighborhoods there were. Nearly every story I read talks about the overwhelming smell of mildew in these homes. They're total losses and most won't be rebuilt. I imagine that developers are salivating....about to buy up large swaths of land and build new larger homes...on stilts.

The power is where it starts. It's very encouraging to see so many dedicated to the task. And so quickly. Barges began moving supplies and personnel in last week to start tackling the massive project ahead.

I'm sure Sanibel is in for much change. I'm sure more than I think. But still less than others think.

 

[dvcgirl67]

The power is where it starts. It's very encouraging to see so many dedicated to the task. And so quickly. Barges began moving supplies and personnel in last week to start tackling the massive project ahead.

I'm sure Sanibel is in for much change. I'm sure more than I think. But still less than others think.

Oh, for sure....it's starts with power. And yes, Sanibel is going to be immune to some of the harsher realities on the mainland...because there's big money out there. And I'm not judging that....that's the way it is. I have texted a couple of times with my former customer who lives on Sanibel. They've been out to their home....which was 12 ft. above ground and took at least 4 feet of water on the first floor. They did get both cars and valuables out before the storm. They moved as much furniture as they could to the second floor. They are currently staying at an AirBnb near Boca. They're trying to find short term accommodations near Sanibel so they can oversee major repairs to their home (including at least gutting of the first floor)....but they are staying. They had both homeowners and flood insurance.....and they are upper-income folks with wealth.

I have read about a couple of mobile home parks in particular that are heartbreaking. And when I say..."mobile home park"....don't think "trailer park".....these look like lovely little homes where great pride is taken by the owners with lovely flower beds, etc. They were able to buy these mobile homes decades ago in some cases, or more recently for under 200K...the only way people with fixed/lower incomes can actually live near the beach. In several cases developers have been offering increasing amounts of money to buy the owners of the parks out, but to avail...because the owners loved it so much. That will change now...and that's kind of sad.

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh, for sure....it's starts with power. And yes, Sanibel is going to be immune to some of the harsher realities on the mainland...because there's big money out there. And I'm not judging that....that's the way it is. I have texted a couple of times with my former customer who lives on Sanibel. They've been out to their home....which was 12 ft. above ground and took at least 4 feet of water on the first floor. They did get both cars and valuables out before the storm. They moved as much furniture as they could to the second floor. They are currently staying at an AirBnb near Boca. They're trying to find short term accommodations near Sanibel so they can oversee major repairs to their home (including at least gutting of the first floor)....but they are staying. They had both homeowners and flood insurance.....and they are upper-income folks with wealth.

I have read about a couple of mobile home parks in particular that are heartbreaking. And when I say..."mobile home park"....don't think "trailer park".....these look like lovely little homes where great pride is taken by the owners with lovely flower beds, etc. They were able to buy these mobile homes decades ago in some cases, or more recently for under 200K...the only way people with fixed/lower incomes can actually live near the beach. In several cases developers have been offering increasing amounts of money to buy the owners of the parks out, but to avail...because the owners loved it so much. That will change now...and that's kind of sad.

Yes, it's sad that some people won't be able to rebuild and stay. What I'm saying is that when those properties sell out, they aren't going to be replaced with high rise high density units. There's already a lot of very nice single family homes on the island. And now some lower value units will be replaced with higher end homes. While sad, t's not going to change the face of the island.

What I don't know is the impact that will have on the small local businesses. Many of the ones we have visited have already said they will be back though so that's encouraging.

 

[soccerdad72]

Yeah, there's quite a few mobile home parks in the Fort Myers area, many of which are on San Carlos Island. I can only imagine that most of those were completely wiped out. I know that a few of them had a fair amount of snowbirds with RVs, so the hope is that many of them were either not in the area yet for the winter or were able to evacuate with their RVs. Any fixed mobile homes would have been in the flood zone and wouldn't have stood a chance with the storm surge that area faced.

On a side note - it's Fort Myers, not Meyers.

 

[JLTraveling]

I have read about a couple of mobile home parks in particular that are heartbreaking. And when I say..."mobile home park"....don't think "trailer park".....these look like lovely little homes where great pride is taken by the owners with lovely flower beds, etc. They were able to buy these mobile homes decades ago in some cases, or more recently for under 200K...the only way people with fixed/lower incomes can actually live near the beach. In several cases developers have been offering increasing amounts of money to buy the owners of the parks out, but to avail...because the owners loved it so much. That will change now...and that's kind of sad.

Yep, this is exactly how gentrification begins. I know when people think of "the projects," they picture drugs and guns and urban decay. But pre-Katrina, we had a lovely housing project right on the edge of the French Quarter that had been there forever. Sturdy brick buildings that were well maintained. Residents who realized what they had and took VERY good care of the place, planting little community gardens and whatnot. And a crime rate inside the project that was a good bit lower than in the surrounding area.

When Katrina hit, that project was on some of the highest ground in the city. The buildings sustained NO damage, all that was needed was a bit of grounds cleanup, which the residents were willing to do themselves. But they were forcefully evacuated to Houston by government officials. As soon as everyone was gone, the city padlocked the place. When residents tried to return, they were run off the property at gunpoint.

Why? Because developers had been salivating over the place for decades. The land value was sky high, and they wanted to raze the projects and build high-income housing. The storm was their opportunity, and the city backed them 100%.

It took awhile and a lot of court battles, but that housing project is now long gone. And who knows what became of the people who had lived there all their lives. It makes me sick

 

[Kennywood]

Help is on the way to Sanibel. Temporary access set up so power crews could get onto the island yesterday. This picture says it all.


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[NotUrsula]

Sanibel will fare better than most, because they have the "Sanibel Plan" -- one of the most restrictive local building codes in place anywhere in the US, and a local Board willing to go to the mats to enforce it.

Pine Island, however, will almost surely be irrevocably changed. Developers will be all over that land like white on rice, and the mostly working-class residents who previously populated it will be driven out.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Yeah, there's quite a few mobile home parks in the Fort Myers area, many of which are on San Carlos Island. I can only imagine that most of those were completely wiped out. I know that a few of them had a fair amount of snowbirds with RVs, so the hope is that many of them were either not in the area yet for the winter or were able to evacuate with their RVs. Any fixed mobile homes would have been in the flood zone and wouldn't have stood a chance with the storm surge that area faced.

On a side note - it's Fort Myers, not Meyers.

Yes...lots of mobile home neighborhoods. The surge destroyed lots, but this article from NPR highlights areas outside the surge area that had mobile home neighborhoods destroyed by Ian....because they were built pre-1992, or before Hurricane Andrew. The building standards have gotten much tougher after that. This article states that there are over 800,000 mobile homes in Florida, and two-thirds of them were manufactured before 1994, so they can't stand up to that kind of wind. Almost none have homeowners insurance because the insurers don't want to carry them. And these folks don't own the land....they pay rent on the land. And so many will have to walk away.