$1M grant could protect Dean Park homes from future flooding

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— The Fort Myers City Council will discuss a project that could help protect Dean Park neighbors from future storms on Monday.

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The project would raise 35 homes in Dean Park. The city is expected to sign on for the project along with the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

That agreement would provide the city with a grant of just over $1 million, so that homes can be raised 2 feet above Dean Park's base flood elevation. The Dean Park community has been flooded after the past few hurricanes.

WINK News drone footage from after Hurricane Milton in October 2024 showed how high the water covered the streets. It was hard to tell what part was the road and what part was people's driveways.

Hurricane Helene hit a month earlier in September 2024. People's belongings lined the streets as they cleaned out their homes from the water damage.

At the time, WINK News spoke with Dean Park homeowner Michelle Nungent, who wondered if the City of Fort Myers should step in.

"People can't keep rebuilding and doing this. It's too much," Nungent said. "I think we need some type of protection. I don't know where it's coming from and who's going to help, but we need something."

The agreement is hopefully the first step in that protection for neighbors. The grant will cover the first phase of raising these homes, including engineering, design and plan preparation.

Council is expected to accept this agreement during their meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.