LCEC Breaks Ground on Sanibel Service Center to Speed Storm Recovery

LCEC broke ground on Nov. 3, 2025, on a service center for Sanibel. The building will take the place of one wrecked by Hurricane Ian. It'll cut response times when storms hit the barrier islands.

Crews can now stay put on the island instead of crossing back and forth over the causeway.

Denise Vidal runs LCEC. She talked about why having workers stationed there matters.

"We don't have to keep going back and forth across the bridge," Vidal said, per WINK News. "So it gives us a great home base to get things started, and then other crews can follow as needed, depending on the security of the situation."

Hurricane Ian tore through in 2022. The causeway to Sanibel got wrecked. Utility workers, first responders, or anyone trying to help residents and businesses could reach the islands.

Sanibel Mayor Mike Miller remembers what happened after the causeway reopened. "I remember very vividly the first day that the causeway was open and watching hundreds of utility repair trucks go over the causeway to start the very difficult process of restoring the electrical grid," Miller said. "And it took weeks."

The old building was small, rusted, and flooded during Ian. This new one will do better for daily service and when emergencies hit both barrier islands.

John Lai heads the SanCap Chamber of Commerce. He explained what this facility means. "It means that we can continue to do business, to welcome our guests, to really support our residents here on the island in a manner that they're used to on the mainland," Lai said.

Workers should wrap up construction by December 2026.