Dedicated to delivering a resilient, world-class resort
As a native Floridian, growing up my family used to vacation on both Captiva and Sanibel islands, and I was that 9-year-old kid riding his bike around with a fishing pole in my hand heading to Blind Pass for the day. Some of my favorite memories include enjoying the beach, riding my bike around the islands, rushing to eat my Dairy Queen ice cream before it melted, and watching the most amazing sunsets. During those trips, I had an opportunity to stay and visit at South Seas many times and made many special memories. It was, and will be again, a place where families make wonderful memories.
When the opportunity came along in late 2021 to purchase this iconic property, it was more than a business deal – it was a homecoming for me and a chance to give back to the people and places that I have come to know and cherish on Captiva. Blessed with incredible partners at Wheelock Street Capital and Ronto Group who shared our vision for the resort, Timbers Company was able to close on South Seas and immediately get to work on our quest to make South Seas the No. 1 multi-generational resort in the United States. We knew fully well that in order to accomplish this task we would need to invest significant physical, emotional, and intellectual capital to turn around this resort that had been under-invested in and neglected for so long. We have never deviated from this plan, even after Hurricane Ian devastated South Seas causing significant damage to the hotel, resort grounds, vehicles and amenities including the golf course, marinas, T-dock and tennis courts.
Those who know us will tell you that our team at South Seas and the South Seas Resort Ownership Group are honorable people who share the community’s sense of pride, resilience and commitment to “building back better than ever.” Our Timbers’ team prides itself on blending into the fabric of the communities we operate in and on our ability to be “authentic to the place” where our resorts are located.
Immediately after the storm, South Seas turned our attention to neighbors in need and invested our own dollars to clean up not only our greater South Seas community, but surrounding areas throughout Captiva. We literally did not charge anyone a single dollar for using our equipment, marina, fuel, and property in the aftermath of the storm nor have we charged any of the associations that make up South Seas a single dollar despite cleaning up over 100 million pounds of debris and providing security and other critical support. To keep them working and earning a living, we hired mainly South Seas resort employees to assist with cleanup rather than hiring outside contractors. Taking care of our employees has been a priority, and we have assisted them with not only employment opportunities, but housing assistance and insurance deductible support as well. Since the storm, South Seas has re-employed approximately 15% of our workforce and looks forward to bringing more employees back to the resort as our operations ramp up. Without our employees there is no South Seas and somewhere in this whole debate the fact that employees, several of which that have worked at South Seas for over 20 years, are the ones that are the most impacted by uncertainty of our ability to get the resort back fully reopened.
South Seas has continued to dedicate its own funds to recovery efforts, such as restoration of the Redfish Pass rock revetment, implementation of a more sustainable golf course design, cleaning out and significantly upgrading our storm water capacity, replacement of invasive species with native plants, reconstruction of a community fishing pier and restoration of resort owners’ residences at cost with no profit to the resort. We also prioritized our team members and residents whose homes, belongings and lives were impacted by the storm.
Only now are we beginning to turn the page to the next chapter – the redevelopment of South Seas. Like every resident and visitor to Captiva, we loved our island and resort and are resolute in doing our part to restore the experience for all. However, if you look back at its history, South Seas has evolved over the past 75+ years, and Timbers is honored to lead this next chapter.
As we look to rebuild, we continue to focus on building back better with a focus on resiliency. While we wait for Lee County’s decision on the much-needed Land Development Code (LDC) changes, South Seas is proceeding with restoring the property and buildings that are not subject to proposed code amendments. For example, the golf course rebuild is underway with a new stormwater management system that will reduce flooding, improve drainage and control runoff. This is just one of many examples of resilient practices that will better protect us from future storms.
We want to build a world-class resort that mirrors the character of the surrounding community and as we have stated, we do not believe anything over three habitable floors over parking/resort service spaces would be the right look for South Seas. The reality is that 55% of the residential product within South Seas is already three habitable floors over parking/support space and there are many structures on the rest of Captiva that are three habitable floors, and many structures on Sanibel Island are four floors over similar spaces. This is not out of character with the surrounding community on both islands. Before Hurricane Ian, our property was showing its age. Now, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild South Seas so it’s among the finest luxury resorts in the country, which will help fuel the local economy and increase property values.
We strongly believe resiliency must be the driving force for our community’s redevelopment. This is why we commissioned and funded the first Resiliency Study for the entire island of Captiva, which was completed 12 days before Hurricane Ian’s landfall. We must build back in a manner that avoids a repeat if another major hurricane comes our way. Lee County’s proposed LDC changes are needed to protect property values within the resort and the rest of the county’s coastal areas, for now and the future to provide clarity, consistency, and certainty to those needing to rebuild and redevelop without jeopardizing property rights. Our vision for South Seas is to build an updated, world-class property that seamlessly fits within a world-class community. We are routinely meeting with community groups, concerned citizens, businesses, and homeowners, and look forward to continuing the conversation when we actually submit our plans to Lee County for consideration and follow the well-defined zoning process outlined by the county. I believe we all have the shared goal of protecting and preserving the paradise that is the islands of Sanibel and Captiva while positioning both for future generations to enjoy, and encourage you to visit our website for updates at southseas.com/community-information/.
Greg Spencer is president of the South Seas Ownership Group.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Dedicated to delivering a resilient, world-class resort
