River District Projects
There have been many improvements to The Fort Myers River District. Check 'em out.
waterFRONT DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Waterfront development plans completed. Implementation underway.
Description: The FMRA contracted a team led by Acquest Realty Advisors, Inc., to prepare a master plan and feasibility study for the underused downtown waterfront. The team presented their final plan in August 2009, which was adopted in concept by the City Council the following month and is expected to undergo final adoption in early 2010. The development consultant team will change roles to project developer following plan adoption, with a scope of services that includes securing public and private funding, marketing and pre-leasing activities, developing land disposition policies and pricing, negotiating development agreements with private property owners within the study area, and preparing preliminary architectural design concepts. As project developer, the team is responsible for final designs, permitting, financing, leasing, construction and management of the project. Development will be executed in phases.
Results: Plans call for the riverfront to become a unique shopping and dining experience, with local and regional merchants offering quality merchandise and personal services that can only be provided by a local shop owner.
Status: Ongoing
Downtown Utility Replacement & Streetscape Improvement
Fort Myers Redevelopment Agency (FMRA) is funding streetscape improvements following city-financed underground utility replacement.
Description: The City of Fort Myers is financing the underground utility replacement portion (water, sewer and drainage) of a $52 million utility replacement & streetscape improvement project for a 40-block downtown area. The FMRA is funding $12.5 million for the streetscape beautification portion (brick streets including reuse of the original brick, concrete sidewalks lined with brick pavers, royal palm trees, street lights and wayfinding signs). FMRA also implemented a Common Area Maintenance (CAM) subsidy program to assist businesses when construction closed the street in front of them.
Results: The elevated attractiveness of the area has increased foot traffic for local businesses.
Status: Complete in December 2009
Publix Grocery Store
Development incentives result in a unique store design.
Description: FMRA partnered a high-rise developer and national real estate firm to bring a top-brand, full-service grocery store to the downtown district as a way to attract residents. Since the site was on a residential, state-recognized historic scenic highway, FMRA worked closely with the grocer and developers to design a store façade maintaining the area’s beauty. A five-year rent abatement of $600,000 per year from tax increment funds enticed Publix to open the store before completion of surrounding residential development. Innovations include placing the front of the store and parking lot in the center of the block while decorating the back of the store bordering the historic highway like a high-quality storefront with faux windows, doors and architectural features; fully-enclosing all unattractive functions like loading docks and dumpsters for visual/sound protection including an attractive roof for nice views from above; and screening the parking lot with townhomes, retail shops, and a landscaped trellis.
Results: The store has boosted sales in the surrounding new and existing residential developments as well as encouraging improvements in surrounding commercial developments.
Status: Complete
Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center/Florida Arts, Inc.
FMRA has provided assistance in the restoration and operation of the Art Center, which attracts thousands of patrons each year.
Description: The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center is a majestic neoclassical building that began its life as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1933. Over the decades it housed a Post Office and later a federal courthouse, and was acquired by the city in 1998 when the FMRA assembled a site for a new courthouse. The non-profit Florida Arts, Inc., chose to revive the abandoned structure into a visual and performing arts center for regional and internationally-renowned artists and began fundraising for extensive rennovations, raising over $3 million so far. FMRA has provided funding for the restoration and operation of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, which has been renewed to a popular gathering place for residents and visitors of Fort Myers.
Results: The Art Center draws thousands of patrons to the Downtown Redevelopment District who attend its art shows, musical performances, theater, film festivals and premiers, special events and charity galas, and children’s plays. Eventually, Florida Arts, Inc., intends to also hold workshops, art classes, and exhibitions.
Status: Ongoing
Arcade Theatre Building/Florida Repertory Theatre
Rent, operating expense, and building repair subsidies are provided to the Florida Repertory Theatre, which attracts thousands of visitors to the district each year.
Description: The Arcade Theatre was built in 1908 with all the charm and grandeur of early Florida. It originally served as a Vaudeville house and the auditorium where Fort Myers winter resident Thomas Edison viewed his first films with friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. Eventually it was converted into a full movie house, but by 1989 it had fallen into disuse and complete disrepair. Two years later, a benefit starring ballet and film star Mikhail Baryshnikov raised enough money to completely restore the historic building. In 1998, the Florida Repertory Theatre troupe moved into the Arcade Theatre and began breathing new life into the Downtown Redevelopment District as thousands of patrons flocked to theatre productions each season. To support their efforts on behalf of the benefits to the district, FMRA subsidizes the Florida Repertory Theatre in rent, operating expenses, and building repairs.
Results: Each season, the Florida Repertory Theatre attracts over 70,000 patrons to enjoy the plays and often add dining at a downtown restaurant to the evening’s activities. The Florida Repertory Theatre also sponsors children’s theatre, summer camp, and year-round acting classes for both children and adults, reaching over 14,000 young people annually who also frequent downtown businesses as part of their experience.
Status: Ongoing
Downtown Library Facility Joint Government Venture
Research & land acquisition facilitated by the FMRA for a joint venture between the City of Fort Myers and Lee County governments.
Description: FMRA and the Community Development Department facilitated research and land acquisition of a downtown site to build a new, larger (50,000 square feet) Lee County library facility. Several sites were presented, but the 3.13 acre block chosen on the Bank of America Block, owned by Hickory Company LLC., meets three criteria: it is consistent with the Downtown Redevelopment District’s “Duany” Master Plan, it creates the Eastern Anchor for First Street recommended in the plan, and the parking block matches the plan exactly. The site provides other advantages such as the ease of surface parking access with 175-200 available parking spaces, no demolition required due to the site’s lack of structures, and its availability for immediate purchase. Thanks in part to the efforts of the FMRA, in September 2009, the Fort Myers City Council and the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved an Interlocal Agreement to build a new $20 million downtown library facility at the southwest corner of First Street and Royal Palm Avenue. With land purchased by the city, the county will fund the design, permitting, construction, and furnishings costs of a new library double the size of the current downtown facility.
Results: The county expects to break ground in less than a year, with 3 years to complete the project and open the new library to the public. Economic spin-off from library construction and potential new development on the balance of the block is projected to recoup tax loss from the site being removed from tax rolls as it becomes a public space.
Status: Agreement in September 2009; project ongoing
