By Steve Plunkett
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The cost of rebuilding Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s observation tower has jumped $200,000, to $1.4 million, and there are signs that the long-awaited structure will be finished by next September.
But there are few details on the construction schedule.
“They’re continuing to work on the project behind the scenes. Not a lot publicly has been talked about it,” said Briann Harms, executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.
The latest cost estimate puts work on the tower at roughly $194,000, with ADA parking and boardwalk access at $20,000 and the ADA ramp at $1.2 million.
Buoyed by a $250,000 pledge from the Kosowsky family, the Friends of Gumbo Limbo have committed $600,000. The Beach and Park District, which had also promised $600,000, boosted its contribution Aug. 30 to cover the $200,000 price jump.
Stephen Kosowsky, who is making the bequest with his wife, Sharilyn Jones, and daughter, Mia, posted the 60% design plan on the “Remembering Jacob Kosowsky” page on Facebook on Sept. 8, his son Jacob’s birthday. Jacob died in a traffic accident in 2018 at age 21; the viewing platform atop the tower will be named Jacob’s Outlook.
“The design for Jacob’s Outlook is almost complete,” he wrote. “Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, the City and Greater Boca Beach and Park District are pushing to complete by Jacob’s next Birthday.”
Boca Raton demolished the 40-foot-tall tower after engineers in 2015 declared it and the adjoining boardwalk were unsafe.

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