Charlotte Harbor Kisses Charley Goodbye

by Adele Woodyard

November 13, 2008:  I’m invited to visit the town Money magazine called one of the “best places to live in the South”.  It’s been over four years since Hurricane Charley blew into unsuspecting Punta Gorda on Friday , August 13, 2004. By the time its up-to-145-MPH winds and 15-foot storm surge  headed northeast, thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, and 340.000 people were without power. Today Punta Gorda is ready to welcome in the New Year. January, 2009 will officially open the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center, cornerstone of the downtown renaissance.  The $19 million, 43,500 square foot, waterfront facility’s Hibiscus Hall takes up close to half the total space. The open-floor layout can accommodate special events of all sizes, from a wedding to an expo.

Two new hotels are popping up within walking distance of the Center and the Punta Gorda Historic District. The 63-room Wyvern hotel, that has a rooftop swimming pool with bar and a great view of the Laishley Park Marina, is also scheduled to open in January.  The 106-room Four Points by Sheraton Harbor Resort and Yacht Club, expects to open its doors in April, 2009.  Fisherman’s Village, well-known to boaters and vacationer’s alike, was particularly hard hit by the storm. The waterfront Mall, Resort and Marina had to be completely renovated, and one restaurant, The Captain’s Table, entirely rebuilt. Among unique shops open for business, we found the Military Heritage & Aviation Museum, chock full of artifacts from the Spanish-American War to the current conflict.

In the spring, baseball fans come to watch their favorite teams train for the months ahead. The Rays from Tampa Bay find their new venue will be the expanded and renovated Charlotte Sports Park, former home of the Texas Rangers. Eighty-two acres now feature, among other items, a 7000 seat stadium,  a kids playground/family area, barbeque pits, clubhouse, a baseball boardwalk and 360-degree concourse. During the summer the complex will be home to the Charlotte Stone Crabs, a  Single-A minor professional baseball team co-owned by the Rays and Ripken Baseball.  

While plans for future prospects continue to evolve, recovery has not ignored the local citizenry. During our Olde Time Trolley tour of Punta Gorda’s tree shaded residential streets, we passed by attractive, affordable housing, construction barriers, and a bulldozer digging a foundation for a new home. 

One brand-new attraction unrelated to the storm is the Muscle Car City Museum, set to open in February. Owner Rick Treworgy has been collecting GM cars, especially Chevys, since he was a kid.  Among the restored and/or replicated high-powered sports cars of the 50s, 60s and 70s, are such early models as a ’36 “Phaeton”, a ’31 Chevy “Caborlet”, and ‘29 “Woody” station wagon. A 1950s diner, the Filling Station, and sales of parts for restoration aficionados, will join the museum’s display.

For more information on new and old attractions: Charlotte Harbor Visitor’s Bureau, 18051 Murdock Circle, Ste 502, Port Charlotte, FL 33948; 941-743-1900; www.CharlotteHarborTravel.com

— Adele