"We brought grass to the beach": Fort Myers Beach celebrates reopening of Crescent Beach Family Park

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) — One of Fort Myers Beach's most popular beachfront parks is welcoming visitors once again.

Crescent Beach Family Park officially reopened Wednesday morning following a six-month, $1.3 million restoration project funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The park was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, leaving it unsafe for public use.

Since then, the site has largely been fenced off as Fort Myers Beach continued its long recovery.

"Since the storm, this has been a construction site for the most part," Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said. 

"To be able to see some greenery and see people smiling, walking around, knowing they're going to have a nice pathway to the beach, now being the first thing you see when you come over the bridge is pretty important for us."

Construction on the project began in January. While the timing coincided with the height of tourist season, Allers said most people understood why the park needed to remain closed.

"Most people understood why it had to be blocked off... for safety," Allers said. "They understood what was coming. They were able to see the vision."

Visitors returning to the park will find new seating, shaded gathering areas, a large grassy space for picnics and relaxation, four beach access points—including one that is ADA accessible—and upgraded ADA-compliant restroom trailers with outdoor showers.

The new lawn was one of the features town leaders wanted to prioritize.

"It was important to us to have some green space," Allers said. "We have plenty of sand, but we don't have a lot of green space. We wanted a place where people could sit down, watch their kids play, or where grandma and grandpa could enjoy a picnic together."

Allers said he hopes the park becomes a gathering place for both residents and visitors while serving as another sign of Fort Myers Beach's continued recovery.

"I think over the next year, 18 months, you're really going to see a transformation in the downtown area," Allers said. "It's all kind of coming together."

The reopening marks another milestone in the community's rebuilding efforts nearly four years after Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach.