CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Less than 6 months after the City of Cape Coral closed on 19 acres of property in the Bimini East area, workers have started tearing down homes even though not all of the parcels in the area have been bought.
"The neighborhood to the east of Bimini Basin is an area that has been struggling for a long time, and it was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Ian. Unfortunately, because of the extensive amounts of damage they received from the storm, they never were able to truly recover,” said Kaitlyn Mullen, City of Cape Coral spokesperson.
While many people who lived here are gone, some remain and have 9 days left to pack up and go.
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"I have a son with a disability, and, well, with many disabilities, so yeah, the location is a big reason why we were still here,” said Lynn James, a current tenant.
James has lived off Tarpon Court for 20 years and she says she's the last one still in her building.
"We don't count. We don't count at all. Nobody, nobody's offered anything or cares. They just want to see us gone,” said James.
She says she has a place to go, but like many of her neighbors I've spoken with over the months, it's been hard finding a place around the same price range.
"Don't think of them just as a paycheck. They're families. They have lives. They have people who care about them. Not everybody's gonna have the help and the backup that she luckily got,” said Amber Orlando, James’ family friend.
The city says they are offering a housing assistance program to help the transition and the people who lived in Bimini East were the first to be offered the help.
The city hasn't said what will be built there, except that there will be an opportunity for new business to fill the commercial needs of the community.
"We're excited to see what kind of developments and ideas a developer might bring to this really like key area in South Cape,” said Mullen.
Tenants have until January 31 to leave.
