Public notice shows details for Fort Myers’ Legacy Island

Fort Myers’ planned Legacy Island could include walking trails, a dock with four slips, an observation platform and a beach.

A permit application submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the island, just north of the Downtown Fort Myers shoreline and east of the Edison Bridge, shows what the city is planning to build on the island.

Plans submitted by the city to the state say the park will also include a paddle craft landing and launching area and shoreline.

The decision to develop Legacy Island came after the city fell into a land dispute prior to the construction of the Luminary Hotel on Edwards Drive.

The Luminary Hotel was built on land deeded to the city back in the 1930s for public use. The deed included a line that “no part of said lands shall ever be sold or leased for business purposes, but shall be used exclusively for park and yacht basin purposes.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to solicit comments from the public prior to approval, the public notice states.

The park can only be accessed by boaters.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found the project could have an adverse effect on smalltooth sawfish, but is in coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to the public notice.

The proposal for the park would impact about .44 acres “of unconsolidated bottom utilized by various states of marine aquatic species.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ initial determination is there would be no adverse effect on federally managed fisheries in the Caloosahatchee River, but the decision is subject to review by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Comments regarding the permit can be made to the District Engineer through the Fort Myers permits section at 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard.

It’s unclear when the work on the island could be finished.