Funky Fish Houses take shape in Cape Coral
Five of 19 lots have already been bought

Funky. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives several definitions of the word.
"Odd or quaint in appearance or feeling. Unconventionally stylish. Having an earthy, unsophisticated style and feeling."

When describing the newest development at Cape Harbour, "funky" fits. The development is called Funky Fish Houses and the first one is being built for owner/developer Will Stout on the water at Cape Harbour's marina.

Laura Straus, managing broker of Stout's Realmark Realty Group, explained the marina's inception.

"Will grew up in Manheim, Pennsylvania - Amish country. Sailboat racing was the family passion and they would go to Annapolis every year. He became fascinated by the idea of a marina where anyone can go. He decided then that he wanted to live at a marina."
And now he's building 19 Funky Fish Houses at his 76-slip, deep-water marina.

Funky Fish Houses will have a Key West, beach-cottage style - unpretentious, unconventionally stylish, unsophisticated, quaint. Funky.

They can be as small or as large as the owner wants, from a mere 500 square feet of living area to more than 3,000 square feet and four stories, provided the design fits the funky architectural guidelines.

They can have boat slips. Most slips will be able to accommodate boats up to 38 feet on a lift or up to 50 feet in the water. They can have decks built as far as 25 feet out, over the water. They will be colorful. They will have metal roofs. They are fee simple ownership and they can be rented nightly.

Lots are small, about 30 to 40 feet wide and about 60 feet deep, including the 25 feet over the water, Straus said.

"That's what we're all supposed to do now, go smaller. We're encouraging 'green' building and the lots will be xeriscaped," she said. "And the road is shell aggregate. When you're out there, it looks like you're on an island.

"It's a marina lifestyle in a fee simple, single-family home, just minutes from the Gulf, which you can rent nightly if you want to," Straus said.

Fee simple refers to absolute ownership, the most common way houses are owned.
Buyers are already picking their spots. Of the 19 lots, five are taken. The Gulf-access lot prices range from $299,000 to $399,000.

Straus predicts the typical Funky Fish House buyer will be "someone who has a passion for living on a marina, someone who wants to have a truly unique, spectacular, one-of-a-kind home."

Realmark Realty Group's sales manager, Rosemarie Maatsch, said that Cape Harbour's single-family home section, about 300 houses on 100 acres, is built out. They are now only available as resales.

In the Multiple Listing Service of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, there are five single-family homes currently available in Cape Harbour. Prices of those homes range from $399,000 to $2,585,000.

Waterfront condos are still available in Marina South and Marina South II, the high-rise condominiums.

"There are 110 units in each of the two buildings," Maatsch said. "We just put two more under contract, so we only have 15 remaining."

Condos range from 1,251 to 1,798 square feet of living area. The developer's units are currently priced from the low $300,000s to mid-$500,000. Six of those units will be sold furnished for the vacation rental program. The community offers an on-site rental office and property management.

"But you don't have to be in the rental program if you don't want to," she added.

Cape Harbour has amenities for homeowners' use, like a clubhouse, pools, tennis courts, basketball court and exercise room. There are other amenities that you only pay for if you actually use them. So the shops and restaurants along the marina's waterfront are pay-as-you-go and are open to the public. Stout's objective was to keep association fees low.

Homeowners' fees range from $165 per month for single-family homes to $350 to $480 per month for condos. Condo fees include building insurance.

Along the marina's waterfront promenade, there are 32 merchants, including four restaurants, an art gallery, salon and day spa, and boutiques, all walking distance from the Funky Fish Houses and adjacent to the condo towers. There is even a pavilion that is sometimes booked for weddings. With plenty of free parking and frequent events for residents and the public, such as the weekly Saturday morning Farmer's Market, frequent live music and recent Independence Day Great American Picnic, Cape Harbour has become a happening scene.

The marina offers 76 deep-water slips and dry storage for 150 boats in its boathouse. Boat sales and service, rentals and a boat club are also available at the marina. The public is invited to boat in, enjoy the marina, visit the shops and gallery, have a bite to eat, and top it off with an ice cream cone or cup of gourmet coffee. It's there for everyone to use and enjoy.

Marvin Development Corp. is building Stout's own Funky Fish House. Marvin will also build a model, Straus said.

"The Funky Fish Houses will all be custom-built homes," she said. "We're encouraging 'green' building and we're encouraging creativity in design. One builder is putting an open-air deck on top of a four-story home. Owners can use one of our preferred builders or they can bring their own builder."

As long as their builder can build funky.