PUNTA GORDA — It’s gone.
The Bayfront Center in Punta Gorda is finally demolished. The demolition was set for late September but was stalled because of Hurricane Helene, which battered Punta Gorda.
Then a week later, Hurricane Milton forced a boat out of Charlotte Harbor onto the edge of the Bayfront Center parking lot.
The building was constructed in the 1950s. It closed after sustaining significant damage in Hurricane Ian two years ago. At the time, the building was used for some displaced city employees while the historic City Hall was undergoing renovations.
After the hurricane, the Punta Gorda City Council created a committee to make recommendations for what to do with the center. The group met a few times and determined it would be too costly to repair the building, 750 W Retta Esplanade, especially since it could flood again.
The committee considered a couple of sites to use as a community building, including a vacant building at the nearby Military Heritage Museum.
The building served as a place for Boy Scout group gatherings, the Learn to Sail Club and the YMCA afterschool program. However, after it was damaged, local groups had to find new places to meet. The YMCA program is now at the city-owned Cooper Street Recreation Center in Punta Gorda.