Useppa Island homeowners buy private island to restore years of hurricane damage

USEPPA ISLAND, Fla. — Homeowners who collectively purchased Useppa Island said they have completed roughly a year's worth of restoration work in just a couple of months since closing on the property.

Fox 4's Bella Line spoke with the CEO and the chairman of island about their mission to restore its 'Old Florida' charm:

Ten homeowners came together to buy the exclusive island and have been working to bring it back to its former glory after years of hurricane damage left much of it in disrepair.

Steven Mezynieski, CEO of Useppa Island, said the island's appeal is undeniable — but recent years took a serious toll.

"This island is a gem, when you get off the boat it's stepping back in time," said Mezynieski.

Mezynieski said the destruction had simply been sitting untouched before the group decided to act.

"The past three to four hurricanes had hit this island very very hard," said Mezynieski. "We closed on this property September 23rd, and we've done about a years worth of work in that time."

Since the deal, he said they have built a new marina and revamped historic sites, including the Collier Inn.

Simon Bound, Chairman of Useppa Island, said the vision for the island is rooted in preserving its legacy.

"We wanted to fix it up and restore it to the very best of old Florida, the very best of Useppa from the 1980s," said Bound.

Mezynieski said the restoration has not been without challenges. They said getting 100 workers to the island daily, along with the logistics of transporting materials to a location unreachable by road, has complicated the effort.

He said a large portion of the island is also preserved land, which they are working to protect.

"When you see many parts of the country being overdeveloped, and being modernized, that's not the way we're going to go and we think we're going to create an even more attractive island by keeping the very best parts of old Useppa," Mezynieski said.

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