Cape Coral Unit 89
Welcome to Eco Cove Estates (Unit 89 Cape Coral)
Eco Cove Estates is located in mid Cape Coral directly East of the Coralwood Mall and directly North of the Mid Point Veterans Parkway toll plaza Eco Cove Estates is not the official name, but because of the proximity of our neighborhood to the Four Mile Eco Cove Park, it is a natural reference. Cape Coral's Unit 89 is the technical name for our neighborhood.
There are 561 properties here and at this time there are about 395 homesites that have homes built on them. Unit 89 was involved in two upheavals in Cape Coral's history, and both have left a visible mark on our community layout.
The first was back in 1968 when the State of Florida put strict controls on the dredging of canals that connected to the navigable waterways leading to the Gulf Of Mexico. At that time the original developer had already made many sales within unit 89 with representations that the buyers would live on navigable waterfront canals... But, the canals, even though most were already dug, were not all connected to the exterior waterway system at the time the STOP order was given.
If you look at the original development plans, or even at today's GPS navigation systems on most boats, it will show all the canals that were intended to be dug, but never were. They were all located in what is now the western half of the Four Mile Eco Cove Park. Even with all those un-dredged canals, all the boat traffic would still have to travel under one bridge, then down the Everest Parkway canal to the river.
The result of the State's actions was that most (all but 8) homes would be located on fresh water canals, and be limited in boat ownership to a maximum of 26'. The original lift (taken out of service in approximately 1985, was replaced by a hydraulic lift. Boat owners on the fresh water side would pull their boats on a “cradle” then the hy-draulic lift would lift the boat up, swing the boat 180 degrees over the bulkhead wall and lower the boat down on the other side. Certainly an inconvenience, but for 40 years from its first inception, it was the only way. Now, as of September 22, 2008 the hydraulic lift and the bulkhead wall is being removed so the traffic will be unimpeded for boats from the previously fresh water canals.
The new situation has great benefits and some noticeable changes. For the first time in 40 years these homes will have a Tidal Flow, they will also have Manatees, Dolphins, and Snook. Another factor is that the tunnel bridge would now have approximately 25 times more water flowing through it as a Tidal Flow. Where it previously would be only the water in front of the 8 homes, it would now be all the water in the entire canal system, flowing back and forth through the narrow bridge opening.
The second episode was the design and construction of the Veterans Parkway and Mid-Point bridge, a project that was delayed by 10 years while the City of Fort Myers fought with the county about where the bridge would come ashore on the Eastern side of the river. During the design process, our Unit 89 neighborhood lost about 12 homes and about 60 buildable homesites. The loss of homes was limited by the effect of the bridge construction rumors upon who was willing to build a new home in the path of growth.
It is interesting to know that the 12 homes that were in the path of the parkway construction were NOT de¬stroyed. Part of the rules for the development of the roadway was that all homes effected had to be jacked up and moved to other homesites, so all 12 were moved and a total of 123 homes were moved in the entire stretch of the Veterans Parkway. There are a few remnant palm trees on some of the lots where the homes once resided where you can see what was done.
As the parkway and toll facility was built, another effect was obvious. The residents of Eco Cove Estates would have to navigate their boats through Cape Coral's narrowest bridge opening, and then a full six lanes of traffic, making the bridge more or a tunnel.
Part of the creation of Veterans Parkway was the relocation of the Iwo Jima statue to the parkway pavilion and the creation of a boardwalk through the Eco Cove Park. The Iwo Jima statue had been moved once before from its original location at the Rose Garden Welcome Center, now part of Tarpon Point, to the corner of Del Prado and Viscaya, and then to its present position at Eco Cove Park.
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