It’s being called a turning point in a years-long local effort to restore one of the most iconic structures in the Florida Keys, the historic Alligator Reef Lighthouse.
“It really feels like we’re making progress here, it’s been a lot of fundraising, fundraising, fundraising for years and now we’re actually to the point where we can do something to see a change,” said Rob Dixon, a founder of the restoration effort and a leading voice in the fight to save Islamorada’s treasured lighthouse.
Recently, Save Alligator Lighthouse put out a request for qualifications, or RFQ, for contractors interested in bidding on the first phase of the multimillion-dollar rehabilitation project. This initial phase will cost about $500,000.
“The first phase of the project is rebuilding the landing platform, a walkway across and then a stairway up to the keepers quarter level and to secure the structure to keep people off of it,” said Dixon. “Whether that be a fence of some sort or some kind of barrier to keep people from going up there and jumping off, which everybody loves to do.”
So far, Dixon says about half a dozen companies have submitted their qualifications for the first phase of this massive restoration project. The RFQ closes on Sept. 10; after that comes the bidding process and the selection of a contractor.
“Anybody who feels like they’d like to have their hat in the ring, they send us their qualifications and then we decide who might be the handful we would like to bid on the project,” explained Dixon.
The 153-year-old Alligator Reef Lighthouse towers 136 feet above turquoise waters just about four miles off Islamorada.
The lighthouse was first lit in 1873 and was named after the USS Alligator, a U.S. Navy schooner that wrecked on the reef in 1822.
In 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard declared lighthouses in the Florida Keys, including Alligator Lighthouse, weren’t needed any more. In September 2021, the U.S. Department of Interior granted the local nonprofit Friends of the Pool ownership of the lighthouse with the agreement that it would eventually be restored and made accessible to the public. Not long after, Save Alligator Lighthouse was born.
“There’s not a handbook for it, for restoring a lighthouse, I wish there were,” said Dixon.
Dixon says Save Alligator Lighthouse has raised roughly $1 million for the restoration and has been awarded four grants from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council totaling $550,000.
“It’s Islamorada’s statue of liberty out there, they obviously want to see it be saved as much as we do,” said Dixon of the TDC’s involvement.
Dixon said the group is also working with lobbyists to try to secure some state and federal funding.
“That’s kind of a maze to navigate, even for someone that knows what they’re doing,” said Dixon.
The entire project is expected to cost between $6 million to $8 million.
Fundraisers to save the beloved lighthouse continue to bring in the cash.
On Sept. 12, as they have done for over a decade, swimmers will make the 8-mile round trip around the lighthouse for the annual Swim for Alligator Lighthouse, taking place from the Amara Cay Resort. Some swimmers complete the entire 8 miles solo, while others are part of a team. This year, 60% of the swimmers are new to the event.
Last year, the swim raised roughly $75,000 and Dixon expects more to be raised this year as 300 athletes from around the country — and as far away as the United Kingdom and Uruguay — take the plunge. The swim also helps jump-start the local economy during the slowest time of the year.
“That mid-September is the lowest occupancy rate of the year, we give a little shot,” said Dixon. “We calculated it to be almost a million dollars between all of the hotel rooms and restaurants and things that people come down and spend money on; that’s why we schedule it in September,” he added.
For the last five years, longtime Islamorada resident Lorie LaLonde has served on the board of the Save Alligator Lighthouse Foundation. This year she is president and says their work is of great local importance.
“Alligator is an icon. Alligator represents Islamorada, plus it’s home to over 500 species of marine life,” said LaLonde.
Besides helping with the upcoming swim, LaLonde and her team are busy preparing for the annual Reignite the Light gala that will take place on Nov. 14 at Founders Park. In years past, the event has been hugely successful, raising about $225,000 in the one evening.
LaLonde says organizers have been asked why they do not hold the event in the winter months when more snowbirds are in town.
“This is a locals’ event. It’s geared toward the locals because the lighthouse represents the locals,” said LaLonde.
More information is at savealligatorlighthouse.org.
