Downtown Fort Myers Reopens to Boats From the West End First
"The docks floated off the concrete piles, and all the boats in here were either on land or half sunk, except for nine, and we got them cleaned up." That is how Eric Ravenschlag, marina director at Legacy Harbour Marina, describes the morning after Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Nearly four years later, his docks are open again. The reopening sets the shape of downtown Fort Myers' waterfront this season. Boats are coming back to the River District one marina at a time, and the rebuilding is starting at the western edge of First Street and moving toward the center. Legacy Harbour has reopened and a new restaurant is going in next door. The historic City Yacht Basin between the bridges is still waiting on federal paperwork, so the life of this fall's riverfront collects at the west end.
Downtown felt the loss of its boats in the cash register. A Legacy Harbour staff member told WINK News that after all three downtown marinas were destroyed, "a lot of restaurants said they were off 30 percent in their revenue." That figure is one staffer's account of what restaurant owners told them, not an audited number. Still, it describes how much of the River District's dinner trade used to arrive by water.
The first boaters back made the link themselves. Five boats tied up during the soft opening. One Cape Coral couple ran their boat across just to get their old spot back. "We've been waiting for four years since seeing and it's a nice, easy walk into town," said Dave Heiden, one of those boaters. That walk into town is what the rest of downtown has been missing.
Legacy Harbour reopened on a Wednesday in late September, according to WINK's Sept. 25 report. That puts the soft opening at Sept. 23, 2026. The marina covers 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee and has 131 slips. The rebuild cost roughly $15 million and included new docks, new utilities, extra pilings and stronger breakwaters meant to hold up better in the next storm.
It took longer than planned. Construction began in early 2025 and was first expected to finish in spring 2026. Ravenschlag described the order of work as salvaging the boats first, then tearing down damaged buildings, then cleaning the bottom of the basin, and only then building. The marina's own homepage may still show an older projected reopening date. The docks themselves are open.
The marina office has opened with restrooms and showers for boaters. An amenities lounge is still planned. You can reserve a slip through the Legacy Harbour dockage page or by calling the marina office at 239-320-8855. A grand opening is planned for October, but Ravenschlag has only said "sometime in October," so there is no confirmed date yet.
The reopened docks also make the next project possible. Len Lemmer, who owns Nervous Nellie's on Fort Myers Beach, is opening Nellie's Boatyard in the riverfront building at the foot of the Caloosahatchee Bridge. That building was a Chart House from 1984 to the early 2000s and Joe's Crab Shack from 2003 to 2025. Lemmer told the News-Press it took him three years to find the site, and he signed a 25-year lease.
The timing ties back to the beach. Lemmer bought the Nervous Nellie's property in early July for about $8.25 million, including the building, land and dock, after leasing it for more than a decade. His target date for downtown is Christmas Day, which is one of the busiest days of the year at Nervous Nellie's and the day the family serves a holiday feast from its own recipes. In late August he was candid about it: "We're a couple of weeks behind." Both Gulfshore Business and WINK have since reported a December opening.
Here is what the Lemmer family has described:
Downtown has three marinas, and each one is at a different stage.
| Marina | Status as of early October 2026 | What's there |
|---|---|---|
| Legacy Harbour Marina, 2044 W. First St. | Open since late September; grand opening date not yet set | 131 slips, rebuilt breakwaters, Nellie's Boatyard expected in December |
| The Marina at Edison Ford | Operating | 45 public slips, pump-out service, upgraded docks |
| City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin, 1300 Lee St. | Closed; federal permit review ongoing | Proposed up to 280 slips plus restaurant and retail space |
The Marina at Edison Ford's website still calls itself the only operating marina downtown. That was true until Legacy Harbour reopened in September.
The Yacht Basin sits along the river between the U.S. 41 bridge and the Edison Bridge, right in front of the River District. It first opened in 1936 and hosted the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. Its operator, Suntex, has proposed as many as 280 slips, a boat club, a marine store, fuel, a riverwalk and about 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.
The holdup is federal. On April 6, Fort Myers City Council gave Suntex one more year, into 2027, to get its permits. Council also voted to have Suntex pay $250,000 a year until approvals come through. On July 27, 2026, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube wrote to the Army Corps of Engineers. His letter says the application was submitted in May 2024 and that Endangered Species Act consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was still going on. He asked for an interagency meeting and an estimated completion timeline.
Construction is expected to take about 18 months to two years once permits are issued. Even if approvals came tomorrow, the center of the riverfront would not reopen to boats this season or next. For now, boaters tie up at the west end and walk east into the District.
One downtown restaurant chose this fall to move back to where it started. Cal and Genevieve Bruno opened Bruno's of Brooklyn on Second Street on Sept. 18, 2014. A decade later they moved to a larger flagship on First Street, less than half a mile away. This September they marked their 12th anniversary by opening an Italian eatery and market back on Second Street at 2112 Second Street. The market is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed Sundays. Its daytime hours suit people who come downtown to pick up groceries and lunch.
With slips open again, these are the downtown dates coming up between now and the holidays, as listed on each venue's calendar:
Some of these calendars were published earlier in the year, so check each venue before you plan a boat trip around a date. If Lemmer stays on schedule, Nellie's Boatyard opens in December, just as Holiday Nights is running.
If you own a boat-ready home in Fort Myers and want to know how a reopened marina downtown affects your property, or which riverfront addresses can reach the River District by water this season, McMurray and Members follows these docks closely. Let's talk.
A Clear Guide to Real Estate Contingencies for Fort Myers Buyers and Sellers.
A Clear Guide to the Home Inspection Process for Fort Myers Buyers.
Your Ultimate Guide to Weekend Fun Near Fort Myers, Florida.
Smart Strategies for a Winning Offer in a Competitive Market.
You will appreciate working with a team who is more like an extended family, one that takes care of each other and encourages success. Plus, we are backed by the strength of Royal Shell.