Sean Niesel, raised in Washington state, grew up vacationing at the Sanibel motel his grandparents once owned.  

When Hurricane Ian destroyed all 33 rooms at Shalimar Cottages & Motel on Sept. 28, Niesel didn’t take long to decide on rebuilding on the 4-acre site at 2823 West Gulf Drive that fronts the Gulf of Mexico.  

“I just think it’s a beautiful parcel,” Niesel said. “We have four acres on West Gulf Beach, and we’re family owned. I want this to go to my kids and their kids and for this to stay in the family for generations.”  

Niesel intends to rebuild all 33 rooms, but it will be a different look and layout. He has hired Joyce Owens to do the architecture and Benchmark General Contractors to build it. He’s hoping the project will break ground in early 2024 and be finished in time for the 2025-2026 tourist season.  

“I’m very confident,” Niesel said of keeping the Sanibel style while still adhering to current building codes. “It’s going to be concrete and concrete pilings, so we’re going to build something that can withstand the next hurricane. I believe we have an amazing concept.  

“We’ve always wanted to keep the old Florida style. The cottage style. The Sanibel vibe you get when you come here.”  

Those updated codes meant Niesel lost about a third of the buildable land on the lot, leading him to fill in Shalimar’s existing pool. The new structures will be built on top of where it once stood, and the footprint and layout of Shalimar will change.  

“We’ve been sitting down with the city of Sanibel to go over all the different regulations and [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and height requirements,” Niesel said. “Everything is going to be lifted up now because of the flood elevations.”  

Insurance will provide only about a quarter of the expected $12 million construction budget, Niesel said. This prompted Niesel and his family to sell several other properties, including two condominiums and the buildings that now include the new Rosalita’s Cantina Mexican restaurant off Rabbit Road to attain the necessary capital to proceed with rebuilding Shalimar.  

“We’ve made some sacrifices to keep Shalimar and to bring Shalimar back,” Niesel said. “Definitely from the beginning, ever since the day after the hurricane, I knew we were going to make it work somehow.”