02/04/2025
From the Naples Daily News (with minor edits for mistakes)
LOCAL
Everglades City Historic Bank Building Looking for State Grants to Complete Rehabilitation
by J. Kyle Foster
Published 5:01 a.m. ET Feb. 4, 2025
Rehabbing Everglades City's historic bank building is no easy task.
It's a task Patty Huff and the Everglades Society of Historic Preservation (ESHP) have been working on since the society was gifted the building four years ago.
With a groundbreaking set for Feb. 21, Huff is getting excited. "Imagine two years from now, if the building is complete, we’ll have lots and lots to offer our
visitors," Huff told City Council members in January. "Finally, we can see some work.”
The Society hasn't raised all the money it needs to complete the restoration; it is looking for the last $4 million needed for the $7 million project. Huff is hoping the Florida State Legislature will come through.
Asking for State Money
With $3 million secured in federal funds, thanks to Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (District 26), Huff said, the building, rebuilding and expansion can begin. Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the $2 million the Historical Society was approved for in the last fiscal year. Huff sent a letter expressing disappointment and asking for reconsideration to save the bank building. About three months after the veto, she received a call from the governor's office saying she should reapply. She did.
Huff, along with Everglades City Mayor Howie Grimm Jr., met with the Collier Legislative Delegation in January. State Rep. Lauren Melo (R-Naples) and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, (R-Naples) were part of the delegation. Huff has applied for a local projects appropriation.
We won’t find out until the House and Senate meet in session and the Governor signs the budget," Huff said in an email.
Desantis released the proposed $115.6 billion state budget for 2025-26 online late Sunday. The governor's budget is the first step in the budget process. Florida's annual legislative session begins March 4. His budget is more than $3 billion lower than the current year budget, though it's higher than the governor's own $114.4 billion proposal for 2024-25.
"We just submitted our request to Representative Melo last week and plan to submit our request to the Senate next week," Huff said Monday. "Then it will go through the process.” ESHP is still accepting donations from the public as well and continues to hold fundraisers and accepting volunteer work.
What will the new building look like?
Outside, the building will be painted back to the original white from its current green. A second-floor outdoor patio is planned on the side of the building overlooking the historic Rod & Gun Club restaurant and hotel and the Barron River. All 20 windows will be replaced with historically accurate but also “impact” windows, Huff said.
Inside, visitors will see a new grand staircase near the entrance as they enter the new Everglades Visitor Center. A small reception area will be manned by volunteers (as it is now just across the street), who will be there to answer questions and point guests in the direction of their desired adventures in the Everglades.
Huff said there will be a small cafe as well, but nothing big enough to compete with local eateries. And in the back inside the old vault, ESHP will fulfill a promise by creating The Bob Flick Theater. Flick donated the building to the historic society with a request that it play “Wind Across the Everglades,” because he was in it as an extra. The 1958 film starred Burl Ives,
Christopher Plummer, Chana Eden and Gypsy Rose Lee, and was the film debut of Peter Falk, according to the movie review site, IMDb. Local Seminole leader Cory Osceola and his daughter Mary Moore Osceola also appeared in the film, according to Florida Seminole Tourism (https://www.floridaseminoletourism.com/). Together, they told a story about battling bird poachers in the Everglades.
The rest of the first floor likely will hold local art and historical photos on its walls, Huff said. In addition to the new staircase, an elevator will be installed to the second floor with its patio, conference room, manager's office, study room/library, and community studio spaces for yoga classes, arts and crafts and book clubs.
Once started, work should take about 18 months, Huff has said.
The Bank of Everglades groundbreaking is 1 p.m. Feb. 21 on the front lawn of the bank at 201 West Broadway.
Construction should be complete shortly after the new Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center is completed. The Park’s visitor center was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The temporary Visitor Contact Station was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022. The new facility, less than a mile from Everglades City center, is expected to open in late
2025, according to the National Park website. Everglades National Park sees a million visitors a year, according to the park website.
Aleli de la Vega and Rick Gonzalez of REG architects and John Brechel and Alan Forbus with Classic Carpentry are the contractors for the Bank project.
Huff, who will be 80 this year, jokingly told city council members in January that she wants to hang on to see the building completed and in use.
ESHP’s mission is to preserve historic sites, structures, documents, artifacts, and memories within the SW Everglades area.
