Pine Island's iconic Captain Con's site becomes 48-home waterfront development

BOKEELIA, Fla. (WINK)—A piece of waterfront property on Pine Island is getting a new chapter after years of hurricane damage.

What was once home to the iconic Captain Con's Restaurant is now being transformed into a new waterfront development. 

The property has been cleared out and prepped for construction. Pipes, heavy machinery and materials are ready to turn this section of Bokeelia into a new waterfront community.

The new project is called Bokeelia Pointe. Plans call for 48 elevated single-family homes, a 105-slip marina, a waterfront restaurant, a resort-style pool and direct access to the Gulf.

After seeing what recent hurricanes have done to this area, developers say resilience is also part of the plan. That includes a new engineered seawall designed to help protect the property from future storms.

But for people who remember what used to be here, the change isn't easy to see. Neighbor Bob Wilbanks was a frequent visitor to Captain Con's, the restaurant that stood here for more than 100 years before Hurricane Milton destroyed it.

"I think it's the work of the devil, overdevelopment," Wilbanks said.

"You know, business is business, but at the same time, you're replacing what was irreplaceable," he said.

Despite his concerns about the development, Wilbanks said he still hopes this project can bring new jobs and business to the area. Bruchalski reached out to the developers to find out when they expect this project to be finished and to see if they have renderings of what it will eventually look like, but has not yet heard back.