J. Kyle Foster | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News
Old Florida. Dade County pine. Quiet and peaceful. Old oaks and rich vegetation. No roads. No cars. That’s Useppa Island.
Useppa Island also is multi-million-dollar homes – all white with tin roofs; an exclusive society of members; a 100-acre playground for the wealthy who want their privacy.
And Useppa Island is rich in history – from the Calusa Indians to pirates and explorers, fishermen looking for – and finding – giant tarpon – to visits from captains of industry – the Vanderbilts, the Rothchilds, the Rockefellers, John Roach and Barron Collier, both of whom once owned the island at one point. Useppa also was where CIA agents took over in the spring of 1960, and used it as secret training camp for the invasion of Fidel Castro’s Cuba – the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Located in the northern end of Pine Island Sound between Fort Myers in Lee County and Sarasota in Sarasota County, Useppa is special, its homeowners say, and they want to preserve it.
The News-Press/Naples Daily News took a tour Oct. 7 with Useppa Island Partners LLC Chief Executive Officer Steve Mezynieski and Chairman Simon Bound. The company, made up of a group of 10 homeowners, bought the island in September for $16 million. Now, they say, they’ll invest $35 million to restore the infrastructure and make upgrades.
Read the full article on news-press.com.
Babcock Ranch, Southwest Florida
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