Floridas historic rainbow beach cottages torn apart by Hurricane Ian in 2022 now being rebuilt as multimillion-dollar homes

When Hurricane Ian tore through Florida in 2022, it destroyed not just thousands of homes, but decades of history—particularly in Fort Myers, where a collection of beloved rainbow-hued beach cottages were decimated by the horrifying storm.The properties, which made up an idyllic beachfront community called Paradise Point, had originally been built in the 1960s and had become a local treasure in the six decades before the Category 5 hurricane touched down in the Sunshine State.Further devastation came when the owners of those cottages, Dennis and Lisa Greenspon, announced that they would not make an effort to rebuild, saying in a statement that the structures were “no more.”“We will miss all the close friendships that we have formed over the past 20 years,” the couple wrote on Oct.4, 2022.

“We will not be rebuilding.Cottages of Paradise Point is now a beautiful, cherished memory.”But nearly four years later, it seems a rainbow is set to rise on Fort Myers Beach once again—with work now underway to restore the brightly colored homes, albeit as part of a very hefty investment that will see the once-quaint cottages turned into multimillion-dollar abodes.Work—which is being overseen by Marvin Construction—on one of the cottages began in January, with at least two more planned to begin construction this year.

But the newly built cottages will look far different from what stood on the Greenspons’ property before.The old dwellings were dedicated as old-world Florida rentals; the new builds will be modernized and listed for sale, with prices starting at $2.6 million. They will also be designed to withstand extreme weather, perched much higher above the ground in a bid to protect them from potential flooding.“The cottages, like many on Fort Myers Beach, were built in the late 50’s and early 60’s and as such they were built to the codes of that time,” Marvin Homes President Richard Durling tells Realtor.com, in an email.

“Con...