Four Freedoms Park's Lease Changed Hands. Its Winter Calendar Didn't.

"We can't simply leave it the way it is now," Crown Development President Larry Nygard told Cape Coral City Council, according to the Cape Coral Breeze. He was explaining why the Bimini East plan can't keep its distance from Four Freedoms Park. The final hearing fell on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. The city had a Sunset Fest booked at the park, 4818 Tarpon Court, that same day.

On the day the deal passed, the park was still running its usual programming, and it will keep doing that this winter. The vote changed who holds the lease on the South Cape's oldest park. The first real change is indoors, at the preschool. And when the lawn by Bimini Basin actually changes depends on a marina approval that nobody has granted yet.

What Council Actually Signed

Council approved three linked agreements, 6-1. Councilmember Keith Long voted no, and Councilmember Rachel Kaduk was absent for the vote. The overall project is $500 million and covers 34 acres downtown. It includes 900 residential units, 250 hotel rooms, medical and general office space, 130,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, up to four parking garages, and a marina.

The park is covered by the third agreement, a 99-year lease at $1 a year. WINK News reported that the city keeps the land as a public park. The developer takes on utilities, taxes, repairs and maintenance. So the park is still public. What changed is who maintains it and who designs what comes next.

The Gates Between a Vote and a Groundbreaking

The approval doesn't start construction. The purchase agreement sets conditions the developer has to meet first, according to the Breeze's account of the hearing:

1. Diligence. The buyer gets 90 days for phase one and wildlife reports, plus windows to object to title and survey findings.
2. Parcel control. The developer needs binding contracts on four more parcels.
3. Marine assurance. The Southwest Florida Water Management District has to signal it is willing to approve the marina.
4. Closing. Closing happens within 30 days after the gates are cleared. A $1 million deposit is split into $250,000 up front and $750,000 once both closing gates are met.

There's no start date after that either. WINK reported that the agreement requires construction to begin "within the next two years."

The marina gate matters most for the park itself, because the marina is why the park is in the deal at all. "We get access to the basin through the piece of park," Nygard said, in the same Breeze account. The hearing coverage describes 50 slips. The city's July 29, 2026 presentation describes a transient marina with 45 slips and public access. Either way, the park gets redrawn around a dock that a state water district still has to sign off on.

The First Change Is Inside the Rec Center

The preschool has a date on it. Diana Linden, the park's senior recreational specialist and preschool director, told Council the program has been licensed since 1992. She said it breaks her heart that they will be saying farewell to the last little graduates at the end of this school year, according to the Breeze.

City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said the city won't take new students until Parks and Recreation finds another location for the program. He said staff who want to stay with the city will keep their jobs, though where they report to work may change. He also pointed out that the school building was built by the city in the 1980s. It wasn't part of the original park that the city's developers donated to Lee County before Cape Coral became a city.

The building does more than house the preschool. The city lists a 3,900-square-foot multipurpose facility next to the 2,000-square-foot preschool and VPK wing. Linden told Council the facility is rented out almost every weekend of the year. Four Freedoms still appears among the city's room-rental facilities. Its one medium pavilion holds 25 people and has no grill.

The Winter Lineup at 4818 Tarpon Court

Outside, the city's event calendar for the park runs into February:

The Boat-a-Long uses the very water the marina plan is built around. Santa and his elves come down Bimini Basin. After the parade, the city shows a movie on its giant inflatable screen, so bring lawn chairs and blankets. The event is free. If you want your own boat in the parade, the city's event page says to register with Sea Tow at 239-945-4820.

The daily park hasn't changed either. It's still 3.2 acres with a fenced playground for all ages, a grassy play area, picnic tables, a beach for sunbathing only, and restrooms open sunrise to sunset.

Where the Playground and the Bandshell Land

The plan does describe what replaces today's layout, even without a date. The city's July 29 presentation shows the reimagined park as public lawn and event space with a bandshell, a waterfront promenade and marina access. The existing playground moves elsewhere in the development. According to the Breeze, the current playground equipment will go to a new one-acre park inside Bimini East, which will also have tennis courts. WINK's approval-day report lists tennis or pickleball courts and a children's playground for that site. WINK's follow-up noted that the plans don't make clear where the equipment would end up.

Some residents raised the bandshell at the hearing because they worried about noise. Councilmember Laurie Lehmann asked whether the bandshell could be dropped and Four Freedoms left where it is, as it is. Nygard said the marina, a restaurant and services are what bring a hotel to the site, and that cutting pieces out weakens the plan for commercial tenants.

"It will be expanded, but won't be the same way it is now."

Larry Nygard, Crown Development, as reported by the Cape Coral Breeze

Jaycee Park Already Has the Pieces Four Freedoms Is Waiting For

The features in the Bimini East concept are a riverfront walk, a bandshell and a lawn for gatherings. That combination already exists on the South Cape, at Jaycee Park. It reopened April 30 with a lighted riverfront boardwalk, an inclusive playground, a 5,000-square-foot splash pad, a bandshell and a food-truck court. The city's fourth-quarter parks report for fiscal 2026 says a weekend food-truck program started there in August. Three trucks come each weekend, one for food, one for drinks and one for desserts. The city's Special Events team runs it, and it continues until a concessionaire agreement is reached.

Put the two parks side by side and the South Cape's waterfront is easier to read this season. Jaycee's bandshell is built and in use. The Four Freedoms bandshell is a drawing tied to a marina permit. And the park people already know still has a December on the books, with Sunset Fest on the 16th and Santa on the basin on the 19th.

If you're bringing a boat into the Boat-a-Long, or thinking about what a public marina on Bimini Basin could mean for your own dock and route, the Shane Wilson team spends a lot of time on Cape Coral's canals and is glad to talk through it. Get in Touch whenever the basin is on your mind.