In a letter to Woman’s Club members, President Dawn Thomas announced that the Woman’s Club Capital Campaign committee has been developing plans and creating a budget with the hopes of rebuilding the Woman’s Club clubhouse.
The Woman’s Club Clubhouse was the island’s first schoolhouse, a teenager’s dance hall and a community meeting place. Built in 1938 as the second beach schoolhouse, it ran as a school until 1948 until it no longer could house all the island children. Throughout the past 82 years, it has weathered many storms. It was totally destroyed by Hurricane Ian nearly two years ago.
Thomas says the vision for the land in which their building once sat is to build a space for everyone to enjoy on Fort Myers Beach. “We are designing the clubhouse to encourage nonprofits to use our facility as their office and storage space and a place where they can hold their events. We also imagine residents holding gatherings for friends and family.”
The Woman’s Club is expecting to announce their Capital Campaign project over the next several weeks to raise the funds needed to build the new building. The cost of the new building has not been announced yet. That could come any day.
Studio AD owner Albert D’Ambrose is part of the team creating the new building. Jim Ink of Ink Engineering also donated his time to help get the project started.