Hurricane Milton update #2

Post storm update: Blind Pass Condos remains closed at this time due to Hurricane Milton. We did have storm surge come into our first floor units as well as the clubhouse. As our guests, families, owners and followers know without a doubt, we are a resilient community! We started on clean-up as soon as the causeway was re-opened and will continue our progress so that we can open once again. We’re happy to report that our new bridge and popular Big Blue Chair are intact!

We are fortunate to have a dedicated contractor crew, patient owners and faithful team of staff members that have been with us through Ian, Helene and Milton… We can’t thank them enough.

Although we don’t yet have a reopening date, we can’t wait to welcome you back soon!

If you have an upcoming reservation made through the on-site Blind Pass Rental Department, stay tuned, we’ll be contacting you next week after we have made further assessments. If you made a reservation with another rental company, please contact them directly.

We will get through this together and we’ll share our progress along the way. Thank you for all of the messages, we appreciate your concern! We love our Sanibel community and your support means so much to all of us at Blind Pass Condos.

Stay up to date with the latest news, sign up for our newsletter!

Hurricane Milton update #1

As Hurricane Milton approaches and comes to Florida, we will be signing off for a few days. Our Blind Pass team is safe and we all appreciate the kind messages and well wishes during this time. We have prepped and readied our resort, as much as we could ahead of this storm. We sincerely hope for the safety and well-being of all those affected by Hurricane Milton. We ask that you keep our beloved Sanibel Island and the rest of Florida in your thoughts during this difficult time, thank you.

Hurricane Helene update

Our hearts go out to all those in the path of Hurricane Helene. We know firsthand the fear and uncertainty that comes with facing a category 4 hurricane, and we sincerely hope for the safety and well-being of all those affected. While Sanibel has seen its share of wind and rain, we’re grateful that we’re okay. We ask that you keep the rest of Florida and those affected in your thoughts during this difficult time. Our thoughts, prayers and love are with you all.

Blind Pass Condos incurred some damage from the storm surge, we will begin work on drying out and clean up today. Although we had a lot of rainfall, we had no serious damage.

We are currently assessing the grounds and anticipate putting out another update on Monday, stay tuned. If you have a reservation coming up soon, feel free to email our on-site rental department staff with any questions you may have. Rest assured that we are working hard on the clean up from Helene!

Thank you for all of the messages, we appreciate your concern! We love our Sanibel community and your support means so much to all of us at Blind Pass Condos.

Our first ground-floor unit is now available!

Our first ground-floor unit is rebuilt and ready to rent!

This is an exciting milestone for everyone at Blind Pass Condos! Our very first ground-floor unit is beautifully rebuilt and now ready to rent. G103 is a 2 bedroom unit that accommodates up to 6 guests. Completely renovated in 2024, this unit features beautiful new furniture, bathrooms, kitchen and appliances with new vinyl flooring throughout. Book direct and save online or call now to make your reservation: ‭(239) 472-6981.

Our new landscaping project

One of the special things about our resort is the lush and beautiful landscaping and tropical foliage that surrounds our complex. We’ve been working hard on bringing that part of our paradise back.

Book direct and save

Our Rental Department Staff is Here to Help!

Why book through us? Our Blind Pass Rental Program staff will soon again be based out of the Clubhouse, located at the heart of Blind Pass Condos. Our knowledgable and friendly staff is available to book the perfect stay for your family, answer questions and guide you in the right direction for activities while you’re here!


Choose our Blind Pass Rental Program and enjoy these exclusive perks:

  • best possible rental rates
  • devoted staff members ready to help
  • on-site maintenance employee
  • easy booking process
  • 24/7 on call emergency assistance
We are ready to make your Sanibel Island reservation at our beautiful resort! Visit www.blind-pass.com or call our office to speak directly with a staff member, (239) 472-6981. Our staff is back in the Clubhouse and available Monday-Saturday 9am – 4pm. We look forward to hosting you on your next Sanibel Island vacation!

Sign up for our newsletter

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Welcoming back our first full-time resident!

Tayla Thomas, staff member, welcomes back full-time resident Shirley Masuka to Blind Pass Condos

Blind Pass Condominiums staff recently welcomed back their first full-time resident, a major milestone in the property’s continuing recovery from Hurricane Ian damage.

At 93 now, Shirley Masuka has spent nearly a third of her life living here on Sanibel and was thrilled to return to her renovated island home on March 21 after 18 months living with family in Minnesota. Her son Michael accompanied her to Sanibel to assist in getting her settled back in, and Blind Pass Rental Manager Tom Henecker and staff greeted her with a bright bouquet of flowers and welcome balloon and card.

When Hurricane Ian was approaching southwest Florida during the last week of September, 2022, Shirley relocated to a hotel near the RSW Airport. When that location lost power, she evacuated to the Hertz Arena with hundreds of others. The volunteers there were “really, really kind,” she said, remembering the staff there from FEMA and Red Cross who assisted her.

Her family arranged for a flight out as soon as the airport opened, and as she waited in the terminal for her trip to Minneapolis, the home of her daughter, Bonnie and family, she saw some unusual sights out on the tarmac:

“The big helicopters were picking up trucks. That was amazing!” she recalled about rescue efforts to the islands.

Asked what it was like to return to cold northern winters, she seemed to have taken it in stride, commenting that she had 72 inches of snow her first winter and found it quite beautiful. This second winter, with little snow, has been a drab one, however.

After two winters up north, Shirley’s happy to be back on Sanibel.

Shirley and her late husband, John, stayed at several locations on the island before purchasing a condo unit at Blind Pass. John served as treasurer on the Blind Pass Condos Board of Directors, and the two were longtime dedicated volunteers at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. “He just loved this,” said Shirley regarding her husband’s sentiments about Blind Pass and Sanibel Island.

And it’s still her special place, too.

Now taking reservations!

This is the moment we have all be waiting for! We are excited to announce that we are now taking our first reservations for weekly stays beginning June 1st, 2024!

To thank our valued newsletter subscribers – we’re giving you the FIRST opportunity to make your first reservations to stay at Blind Pass Condos after Hurricane Ian!

We are so very happy to welcome you back as our guests at Blind Pass Condominium on Sanibel Island!

We will be taking reservations for second-floor units only. Please bear in mind that while we are thrilled to once again accept rentals, our recovery from Hurricane Ian in September 2022 will continue throughout 2024 as we work to restore the property to the paradise you’ve come to know and love.

We do anticipate that some second-floor units in buildings may be open sooner than June 1st. Keep following us for updates on building reopening progress!

During your stay, you may encounter disruptions such as noise from work/delivery truck traffic on the property; ongoing renovation work in units; noise/dust from landscaping projects; and noise/dust from construction work on tennis and pickleball courts. Amenities such as the courts may not be fully available and are subject to temporary closure with little or no notice.

While we will attempt to minimize the intrusions during your stay, all the work you will see and hear is necessary to fully restore the resort back to the paradise setting our guests have enjoyed over the years. Working hours will typically be between 8am – 4pm during the weekdays.

Please NOTE: There will be no refunds for early departures due to concerns related to ongoing construction/renovation work on the property. Our clubhouse will be open Monday through Saturday, 9am-4pm. If you have any questions or concerns, our knowledgeable and friendly staff will be there to help. Thank you for your patience and understanding during our recovery process. We look forward to hosting you!

Make your reservations now!

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Our Journey Back to Paradise – Update 7

As 2023 comes to a close, we hope all our guests and owners have a wonderful holiday season. While we will miss seeing so many of our holiday and winter visitors, we are moving along our journey and know that we’ll be together again soon.

It can be difficult to look back to the start of 2023 and remember all the destruction throughout Blind Pass and Sanibel Island. At that time it was hard to imagine how it would all be rebuilt and restored. We knew it would be a long road, but the people of Sanibel are a resilient bunch!

Slowly but surely throughout the year we’ve seen progress across the island and at Blind Pass – massive piles of debris removed, roofs repaired, grass and flowers growing and, most importantly, the condos themselves being worked on. Some had minor damage while others (as in all the first-floor units) were stripped down to the studs to start over. Blind Pass has an amazing crew of contractors who have been hard at work dealing with all the issues that 5 feet of water and 150 mph winds caused. One of our wonderful owners put together a short video showing some of the progress at Blind Pass (see below to click on the video).

Now we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Many second-floor units are in good shape and the rebuilding of first-floor units is under way. There is still quite a way to go before we are whole again, but we hope that by summer units are ready for renting — and that by next Christmas everything will be completed and Blind Pass will be full of the laughter of families going to the beach, the sounds of pickleball and tennis on the courts, and the sizzling at our grills at the end of another wonderful day on Sanibel Island.

All of us at Blind Pass thank you for your continued support of our efforts and we wish you and your families a happy holiday – and for many of you, a warm “See you in 2024!”

With gratitude ~ The Blind Pass Board of Directors and Staff Members

One of our Blind Pass Condo owners took the time to put together this video of our recovery process. Enjoy!

Clubhouse Update

The Clubhouse is coming along! All of the drywall is up and the walls are painted. Toilets and sinks have been installed in the bathrooms. The tile is done in the bathrooms too! The flooring is being installed this week, after that we’ll start to put it all back together. The progress has been amazing, thank you to our contractor crew for working so hard!

A Visiting Heron

We may have a new lifeguard on duty! This beautiful Heron was spotted spending some time at our pool. The wildlife has always been a special part of Blind Pass Condos and Sanibel Island. We have seen so many birds and gopher tortoises! Keep up to date with our visiting wildlife on our Facebook page.

Shells Galore!

Finding shells on a beach walk is one of the best ways to spend time on Sanibel! We know that our guests have shells at home from their stays at Blind Pass Condos, a sweet reminder… Shelling is the activity our guests love best and that tradition will continue as we get closer to reopening. Let us know what your favorite shell is by posting to our Instagram page.

Bridge Building Fundraiser – Thank You!

We are continuing our Bridge Building Fundraiser! We know that our private footbridge over Clam Bayou is so important to our guests and families, it is the path that delivers us to our beautiful beach. Since the bridge was damaged and mostly gone from Hurricane Ian, we have been working on the rebuilding and repair plan and are getting close to starting that project. We’re raising funds to help with the immense costs for this important project.

We are accepting any donation amount but are also
offering several levels of donation sponsorships:

Bronze – $150
Silver – $250
Gold – $500
Platinum – $1,000

All monies raised will go directly toward our rebuilding of the bridge and we’ll be recognizing all of our donors by hanging a plaque in our Clubhouse. We appreciate all of the support that we’ve received over the past year and we are excited to watch Blind Pass rebuild and return to paradise!

Click here to learn more or make a donation, thank you!

A Festive Holiday BBQ Lunch!

We hosted 40 workers for our 14th lunch this week at Blind Pass – a festive Holiday BBQ! 🎄 We grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs on our new grills. We had lots of cold drinks and even some festive cookies for everyone to enjoy. We appreciate all the hard work that the crew has been doing throughout this holiday season! We will continue to host lunches for them as we work towards bringing Blind Pass back to the paradise we all know and love. Read more about our lunch fundraiser here.

Photos Around Blind Pass

New flooring in the Clubhouse this week!

New gutters! We are making progress everyday – inside and out!

Do you remember how big this Palm was in front of the G building? It got a fresh trim!

Our pool is looking great! We can’t wait to welcome guests again and see them enjoying the pool area with friends and family.

Our contractors have been working hard all over the property, here are a few new lanais that have been rebuilt.

Our Journey Back to Paradise Continues…

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Our Journey Back to Paradise – Update 4

OUR JOURNEY BACK TO PARADISE

Our roofing project is complete! We are excited to have new roofs on all our buildings! It was quite a challenge for our contractors as some of our buildings had structural damage to trusses. But they worked tirelessly to make sure everything was repaired and replaced even stronger than before. You don’t realize how much material it takes for 8 buildings (7 condominium buildings and our clubhouse) until you see more than 16 tractor trailer loads of shingles!! A huge thank you to our roofing contractors for working from day one putting on tarps to the final shingle going in place.

The Blind Pass Condominium Board and staff appreciate all the positive notes from guests who are looking forward to the day we have visitors back at our beautiful property. We have always loved our amazing tropical paradise and are working with a landscape designer to create an even more natural and native property than before! The clubhouse is getting closer to completion and work is underway in our buildings. We look forward to seeing all of you back at Blind Pass enjoying our wonderful amenities and beaches! With gratitude ~ The Blind Pass Board of Directors

A View of Our Beach

As our island and beaches continue to heal from hurricane Ian, we are thrilled to see the beautiful water and so much wildlife reappear. This photo was taken from a boat in front of our beach. The water has been crystal clear and a vibrant blue color. We look forward to seeing our guests, owners and friends enjoying our beach again soon! Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages as we continue to share photos.

Clubhouse Update

The Clubhouse framing, roof and rough electric has been completed. We’re waiting on windows and doors right now and we’ll be sure to share photos to our Facebookpage when they get installed! As we get closer to reopening, we will have a place for our guests to check-in, ask questions and visit. We look forward to seeing everyone again!

Roseate Spoonbills

We spotted these Roseate Spoonbills flying past our beach the other day! These birds are probably the most photographed bird on Sanibel Island and usually found at our neighbors, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful sight, as they flew over head! We’ve also spotted Snowy Plovers and White Ibis at our beach – a sure sign of natures recovery.

Manatees in Clam Bayou

We know that some of our guest’s favorite memories over the years include seeing the manatees in Clam Bayou as they cross over the bridge. We’re happy to announce that the manatees are thriving and enjoying the inlet once again! We have seen several manatees over the months. We’ll keep sharing photos as we see these majestic creatures enjoying the water. Read more.

Lunches for the working crew continue

We have a crew of people working at Blind Pass Condos. They are helping to bring Blind Pass back so we can re-open and welcome owners and guests again. This devoted team has been working tirelessly since day one. Our wonderful community of owners and guests have donated to a workers lunch fundraiser — this has been a great way to say Thank You from afar. So far, we’ve hosted 9 lunches and have recently been able to order from Island Pizza. We’re happy to help support local businesses on island as they reopen! Read more about our lunch fundraiser here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos Around Blind Pass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Journey Back to Paradise Continues…

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Our Journey Back to Paradise – Update 3

Our Journey Back to Paradise

We are excited to report that we are making great strides at Blind Pass. The basic services are coming online one at a time. Water is on, electricity is close to being connected and the sewage system will be completed next. Many of our favorite restaurants have reopened, including Traders, Island Pizza, Il Cielo and Sanibel Deli. The beaches are also reopening as the clean-up of each beach is completed. And the public is allowed on the island to visit and support the businesses that have reopened.

The crews have been working seven days a week to clean up the landscaping and have completely removed all the debris. Many of the trees along the path going to the bridge had to be removed from the property as they had been pushed over by the high winds. And all the sod had to be removed as the salt water had destroyed it down to the roots. Most of the palms and other bigger plants are growing back nicely and we will be replanting all the landscaping needed to make Blind Pass more beautiful than ever. Some plants and trees are even blooming again!
The first-floor units have been stripped down to the studs and the second-floor units are being repaired as needed – more on that below. Air conditioning units have to be replaced in every unit and that process is well underway.
We have received so much support from all of you and will continue to send you updates as the progress continues.
With gratitude ~ The Blind Pass Board of Directors

Happy New Year!

As we say goodbye to 2022, we want to say Happy New Year to all of our friends, families and guests from the Blind Pass family! We wish you a happy, healthy and wonderful 2023. We are committed to moving forward with the goal of re-opening Blind Pass to our guests once again. It’s a huge task but the support has been amazing. We appreciate all the encouragement, kind notes and messages that our guests send. We can’t wait to open our doors to you once again! We’ll continue to share our progress along the way so check out our Facebook and Instagram pages too.

Blind Pass Pool Update

Remember what our pool looked like after Ian? Our pool has now been cleaned — look at that color! The mud was removed and scraped off and the deck has been pressure washed too. The next step is replacing the damaged pool equipment! We know so many of you have enjoyed our beautiful pool over the years with your families. We can’t wait to see you all swimming, playing and relaxing here again. We have more photos on our Facebook page – click here to see!

1st Floor Update

Every 1st floor condo has been cleaned out and demoed down to the studs. This is a huge project and we’re so grateful for the contractor crew that has been working on this. The ongoing progress has been encouraging to see as these units have gone from being filled with water and debris to a clean slate for the rebuild. We’ll keep you posted on developments as we work together to re-open!

2nd Floor Update

While some of the upper units at Blind Pass were unaffected by Hurricane Ian, others did experience damage from the storm. Some windows were blown out, a few of the units had roofs partially blown off or damaged, and water got into some of the units. Any roof damage will be repaired as part of our rebuilding process. Read more.

Thank you to the Bauers!

Our owners at Blind Pass Condos are the best! The Bauers stopped by and delivered donuts and cookies to the crew working, offering treats to everyone on-site that day. Blind Pass owners are a wonderful group of people that have banded together to get through the rebuilding process, showing gratitude along the way. We love to see this, thank you so much Jim and Lynn!

 

Lunches for the working crew continue

We have a huge crew of people working at Blind Pass Condos. They are helping to bring Blind Pass back so we can re-open and welcome owners and guests again. This devoted team has been working tirelessly since day one. Our wonderful community of owners and guests have donated to a workers lunch fundraiser — this has been a great way to say Thank You from afar. So far, we’ve hosted 7 lunches and have recently been able to order from Sanibel Deli. We’re happy to help support local businesses on island as they reopen! Read more about our lunch fundraiser here. Read more about our lunch fundraiser here.

 

OUR JOURNEY BACK TO PARADISE CONTINUES…

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Sign up for the Blind Pass Newsletter here!

Our Journey Back to Paradise – Update 2

Our Journey Back to Paradise

Welcome to our second update on the progress at Blind Pass Condominiums.

We are thrilled to report that things are moving along on Sanibel. Many areas have water, electric and waste water service. A few restaurants have reopened in the last couple of weeks. And a lucky few residents have even been able to move back into their homes. That said, most homes, hotels and other vacation properties have much work ahead!

We’re making progress at Blind Pass, too. Our staff, board and contractors are working with the City of Sanibel to be sure everything is in place to get these services up and running for the entire complex. In the meantime, the crews have continued to move things along at Blind Pass. Piles of debris have been removed by the city. The condos have been mostly cleared of debris and the workers are in the process of removing the walls for the first floor units and stripping them back to the studs. This will allow them to begin replacing the walls!

See below for news on the Clubhouse — it’s going to come back better than ever! And our terrific staff is working hard to make things happen, from our manager Tom’s help with contractors and overseeing work on site to Tayla and Taylor refunding deposits and doing so may other things: taking photos for owners, helping keep things organized and even finding our Big Blue Chair! It’s a great team and we’re so appreciative of all they are doing to help Blind Pass recover!

While the recovery process has many steps, we are grateful for each new major step that we take at Blind Pass and on the island as well! We can’t wait to share more in our next update — and we continue to look forward to the day we’ll be welcoming you back to Blind Pass again. We hope your Thanksgiving was terrific. At Blind Pass, while we have faced many challenges, we also have much to be thankful for!

With gratitude ~ The Blind Pass Board of Directors and Staff

Progress in the Clubhouse

So many of you have stopped by our clubhouse over the years, to say hi, to sign out a kayak or to get a puzzle or book… The Clubhouse has been cleaned out and the walls have been removed down to the studs. As we continue to work on this space, we’ll keep you updated. We are looking forward to having you stop by when we re-open! Plus we’ll have a fresh selection of books, puzzles and games to borrow while you stay. Here’s a picture of Tom, standing where his desk used to be!

 

Refund Update

Our refund process is still moving right along – the office staff has been diligently working on this project. At this point, we are issuing refunds on deposits through March 2023. Rest assured that cancellation fees are being waived. Although we do not have an estimated date for re-opening, our Blind Pass Team is already hard at work to make our beautiful island home better than ever as we rebuild. Read more about our refund updates here.

 

Our Big Blue Chair!

If you visited Blind Pass Condos in the summer or fall this year, you must have seen our new Big Blue Chair! The manager, Tom, built and painted this just for Blind Pass. So many of our guests have had fun taking photos on our Big Blue Chair. We were beyond excited to see that it survived Ian. The chair will be back in place when we reopen so you and your family can get a photo with the chair that survived Ian!

Some New Re-Openings

Jerry’s celebrated its reopening with a ribbon cutting in October! And in true spirit of helping one another on Sanibel Island, both Jerry’s AND Bailey’s (along with their stores’ shared supplier) made a donation to F.I.S.H. for $20,000. Some other restaurants are also open now: Cielo, Captiva Pizza and Traders. Read more.

 

Thank You to the Crew

We have a huge crew of people working at Blind Pass Condos. They have helped to tarp roofs, secure windows, clean up, clear walkways and repair the clubhouse. This devoted team has been working tirelessly since day one. Our wonderful community of owners and guests have donated to a workers lunch fundraiser – this has been a great way to say Thank You from afar. Read more about our fundraiser here.

Photos Around Blind Pass

OUR JOURNEY BACK TO PARADISE CONTINUES…

We are committed to sharing our story as we continue on this journey. Our guests, friends and Blind Pass families are a source of inspiration to all of us. Thank you for the support, the kind messages, the sweet stories and uplifting notes. We appreciate all of you and look forward to keeping you informed. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, we’ll continue to share our updates and progress along the way. Thank you!

Sign up for the Blind Pass Newsletter here!