Dome Homes
Verdict on eclectic Cape Romano abode could come by summer
Beneath the Dome Homes of Cape Romano, sea creatures ply the waters under what had been Bob Lee’s vacation home on the once-dry southern tip of the cape; six concrete half bubbles with no floors resting on 36-year-old pilings.
But that sealife will soon navigate through the abandoned homes. It’s a matter now of how and when that will happen.
Built in 1981 by Lee, a Tennessee oilman, the iconic cluster was a self-sustaining holiday home with solar panels and has been misshapen by time and weather, while hurricanes and erosion have gobbled up the land and left the structures isolated and tilting in the water south of Marco Island.
Mother Nature isn’t the site’s only foe—the Collier County government has been fining current owner and Naples resident John Tosto $250 a day for more than eight years. The county classified the Dome Homes as uninhabit able in 2007 and ordered they be brought up to current building codes or removed. So as the earth and mankind strive to batter the Dome Homes into oblivion, a rescue group is using the crowdfunding site Plumfund to raise money to use the domes as an artificial reef. An estimated $2.2 million is needed for the project. A small amount of the figure has been raised to date.
Naming rights to each dome is part of the plan—for $370,000 a person or business can back the project. “Each of those domes is looking for a sponsor, and they would have lifetime naming rights on a plaque and on nautical charts,” explains Lisa Fleming, a Naples writer and environmentalist helping to
THE ICONIC CLUSTER WAS A SELF-SUSTAINING HOLIDAY HOME WITH SOLAR PANELS AND HAS BEEN MISSHAPEN BY TIME AND WEATHER.
organize the movement. “We can save a piece of our local history and see them become a big beautiful reef.”
Tosto bought the homes and what was once a six-acre parcel in 2005 for “the peaceful serenity on a pristine barrier island,” he says. Erosion and storms have reduced dry land to three acres. “The dome design had always fascinated me. Bob Lee was really ahead of his time with solar panels and a water cistern. I know his family is happy that we are seeking funding to save them, too. They’ve become part of the landscape here locally … but are known and have a following all over the world.”
The reef vision is extraordinary, and the beautiful 3D renderings created by Turrell, Hall & Associates in Naples
show an underwater atoll that would tempt any diver. Though the reef site is not yet determined, the goal is to link the Dome Homes with the activities of Oceans for Youth, a nonprofit foundation designed to actively promote underwater education and an appreciation and respect for the oceans in today’s youth. Tosto is optimistic about the outcome. “When I realized they would never be habitable, it’s always been my vision to see them as an artificial reef for divers around the world to enjoy,” Tosto says. “We can’t wait to make that a reality!”
Artificial reefs are common off Collier County’s coast, including sunken ships like the Baja California, World War II-era 256-foot steel Honduran steamship built in 1914. A project to build more reefs for divers from 10 miles and farther offshore has been going on for more than a year. The concept of moving the Dome Homes to a spot within Collier County, and near the current location, is ambitious for many reasons. First, there is the cost. Moving the concrete structures is expensive. “We’re under the gun here,” Fleming says. “We have until next summer in 2017 to accomplish this massive mission.”
Second, while the Dome Homes may be a piece of eclectic Florida that’s nestled in the minds of every boater who has passed Cape Romano, the domes will be moved―either made into a reef or demolished. County commissioners could vote to waive the fines levied against Tosto if the homes are made into an artificial reef.
Diving in Collier County is popular, and the Dome Homes would be a welcomed new site. On the Plumfund site, the message to donate is: “For a decade, they have been drifting toward the Gulf of Mexico and we want to assist them to their final destination where they belong. This will become a national dive reef in Collier County, Florida, for all to come and explore and you can swim right through the front door!”
AT A GLANCE
Oceans for Youth: oceansforyouth.org Plumfund: plumfund.com/fundraising/create-a-reef
TOSTO BOUGHT THE HOMES AND WHAT WAS ONCE A SIX-ACRE PARCEL IN 2005 FOR “THE PEACEFUL SERENITY ON A PRISTINE BARRIER ISLAND.”