In October 2025, Richard Birney sat down to breakfast at a Sanibel-Captiva Rotary meeting with Bob Stern, who had spent most of a year trying to get the Ian-damaged fishing pier at Lighthouse Beach repaired. Stern told him the effort was stalled. Birney asked what he could do to help. As Birney later told the Islander, the answer was, "Well, you can take it over."
About a year later, Stokes Marine is working on the pier. The committee Birney ended up chairing has raised more than its roughly $300,000 goal, and the city has a $2.1 million county grant for a permanent replacement. The east end of the island is getting two piers on two schedules, and the one residents paid for is the one that comes back first. It is also the reason fishing can continue through the years it will take to build the permanent one.
A Repair Built to Be Temporary
The city calls it a temporary pier, and the design is meant to be modest. Hurricane Ian damaged one of the old pilings. The committee chose not to replace it. Instead, the engineers leveled the top of the damaged piling and put a new support structure on it to carry a fresh deck, a design Birney described as inexpensive and quick.
"They came up with a design where they didn't have to replace the pilings (but rather) level out the pier using a different support structure underneath on top of the pilings."
That is how Birney described it to the Islander, calling it a "less elegant approach" that was still safe and workable. WINK News reported that crews are adding new ramps, replacing posts and repairing railings.
The money came from residents. WINK reported that almost 200 people in 22 states, plus one donor in Canada, gave more than $300,000. The Charitable Foundation of the Islands set up the Sanibel Pier Fund to receive the donations, make them tax-deductible and pay them out to the City of Sanibel as the work moves forward. The committee started large, recruiting through bait shops, the fishing club and the boat club, with meetings at the Community House. Birney said it eventually came down to "a faithful few — 10" who did the fundraising.
How the Repair Led to the Permanent Pier
The two projects are connected. While he was raising money, Birney and City Manager Dana Souza met with Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane to show him the plan and ask whether any money was available for a permanent pier. According to the Islander, that meeting led to a $2.1 million Tourist Development Beach and Shoreline Funding Grant. In April 2026 the Boca Beacon reported that county commissioners had approved the interlocal agreement sending that tourist-tax money to Sanibel.
So the repair did more than fix the old pier. Bringing a finished plan to the county helped get the replacement funded. The two piers also differ in almost every practical way:
| Restored pier | Permanent replacement | |
|---|---|---|
| Funding | More than $300,000 from about 200 donors through the Sanibel Pier Fund | $2.1 million in Lee County tourist development tax money |
| Structure | Existing pier on a leveled piling with a new support structure and deck | T-head pier with deeper, larger piles and a higher deck |
| Materials | New ramps, posts and repaired railings | Concrete foundations, timber framing, composite decking, aluminum railing |
| Planned extras | Remaining funds set aside for maintenance and a shade overhang | Shade, benches, fish-cleaning facilities, accessible approach and fishing rail |
| Timing | Reopening targeted for late November or early December 2026 | Design, permitting and construction phases running through 2029 |
The design details for the permanent pier come from the city's workshop presentation, which lays out a storm-resilient structure of about the same size as the old one. Birney put it this way: "it would certainly be nice to have a new pier built correctly to withstand the next Category 5 storm."
Why It Matters That the New Pier Goes Next Door
The location of the permanent pier is what makes the repair worth doing. Birney told the Islander that the city plans to build the new pier "just down from the existing pier," so people can keep fishing while it goes up. In September, the city presented three possible locations at a public workshop, which WGCU announced for September 15. On October 6, the Sanibel City Council approved a preferred location after public input.
WINK reported that permitting for the permanent pier would take at least another year or two. Without the repair, the pier would have stayed fenced off for all of those seasons. With it, the old pier can be back in use while the new one is designed, permitted and built. Here is how the restoration has unfolded so far:
- Late 2024 and early 2025. Bob Stern of the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club, along with Frances and Simon Tutt, starts looking at repair options with the city.
- October 2025. Birney takes over after the Rotary breakfast. Souza helps set up a partnership among the city, the Charitable Foundation of the Islands and a citizen committee.
- Fourth quarter of 2025. Birney works with engineers and presents to City Council, which supports the approach.
- Over nine months. The committee goes past its fundraising goal, gets a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and works with wildlife officials to protect sea turtles during nesting season.
- October 2026. Groundbreaking. City Manager Dana Souza, CFI Executive Director Dolly Farrell, Chamber President John Lai, Public Works Director Fred Mittl and Major Cory Bell of the Army Corps attend.
- Late November or early December 2026. Reopening target, depending on progress and final approvals. WINK reported an estimated finish of November 21, with a city ribbon cutting to follow.
Other Ian Repairs This Fall
The pier is one of several hurricane repairs coming due on the island's public routes this fall. At J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set an October 17 reopening for the Visitor and Education Center at 1 Wildlife Drive after rebuilding its Ian-damaged entrance ramp. The Wildlife Drive, the center, the Nature Store and the Indigo Trail are closed every Friday. The Sanibel Historical Museum and Village at 950 Dunlop Road, next to BIG ARTS, set October 15 for tours to resume after its summer closure. The Rutland House there has stayed closed since Ian.
Closer to the lighthouse, the city scheduled island-wide mulching from November 7 through November 20. The work includes Periwinkle Way from the Lighthouse area toward Tarpon Bay Road and the landscaped beds at public beach parks, so plan for crews along that stretch on the way to the pier.
Once the Pier Reopens
The donations will keep paying for the pier after the ribbon cutting. Money left over from the campaign is set aside for maintenance and for a shaded overhang. Speaking to WINK, Vice Mayor John Henshaw said, "Citizens are responsible for that pier, and the citizens will make sure it stays on Sanibel forever." He also described the spot as deep water that most fish coming in from the Gulf pass through.
If the pier reopens on schedule, it will be back in time for the 40th annual Luminary on Friday, December 4 on Sanibel and Saturday, December 5 on Captiva. The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club has set the 90th Sanibel Shell Show for March 4 through 6, 2027. The city's schedule for the storm-resilient replacement runs in phases through 2029, and the repaired pier is the one meant to serve the east end until then.
If you own property near the Lighthouse end and want to know how projects like the pier and the refuge reopening affect a home there, Abreu Group can walk you through it. Schedule a Private Consultation, or start with our Sanibel Island neighborhood guide.
