BY DON MANLEY
dmanley@news-press.com
It was just a few years ago that construction was king and dreams took on king-size proportions.
The building frenzy included high-profile residential and commercial developments in all corners of Lee County. But some of these projects fell prey to the upheaval caused by the downward economic slide that began after the 2005 peak.
In some cases, the site has been cleared but nothing more has been done. In others a good deal of work was completed before the market soured. Some commercial developments have been built, but remain unoccupied.
Regardless of their state, these sometimes high-profile projects all represent dreams deferred…
…On the commercial side, building continued as the slowdown deepened and demand slowed – a trend fueled, in part, by developers trying to beat the June 30, 2007, deadline for the tripling of the county’s commercial impact fees.
Those developers also based their decisions on anticipated demand generated by the homes that were being built, said Jim Garinger of Fort Myers commercial real estate firm Colliers Arnold Southwest Florida.
But the commercial market should stabilize once the surplus of available homes is absorbed and those homes are occupied, Garinger added…
…Regardless of the reason, no section of Lee County is without unbuilt, partially built or unoccupied developments. Here’s a brief look at 10 high-profile projects around Lee County:
- Pinewood Lakes: A 20-acre, Cape Coral community located just north of the Hunter’s Run executive golf course. It was to contain 58, 70-foot-wide lots with single-family homes and a zoning classification that permitted full-size recreational motor homes and large boats to be stored in garages. It was never built and the land has been reclaimed by the lender, Reliance Bank from the developer Realty Partners & Co. of Cape Coral.
- Shadow Lakes: An 80-acre development, located off Bell Boulevard in Lehigh Acres where 280 single-family homes were planned. The developer, Minnesota-based M.W. Johnson Construction, has exited the market. Only about 15 homes were built. Local real estate experts were unsure of who owns the property now.
- Terra Vista: Located off Broadway Avenue in Estero, it was designed for 167 single-family and condominium homes the developer, Chicago-based Kimball Hill Homes. About half of the homes were built before the downturn occurred. Kimball Hill has pulled out of Florida and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Concordia: A Cape Coral development, located at Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway, where 340 condominium homes were planned. Florida Community Bank took control of the property from the original developer and the project is now owned by Concordia Cape Coral II, LLC. There are 250 homes in various stages of completion, including 170 released for sale, with 90 yet to be built. The remaining homes will be completed once buyers are found.
- Serengeti: Located on North River Road in Alva, the development is owned by John and Valerie Thivierge, who live nearby. It’s a 31-acre riverfront tract containing lots ranging from one to 1.25 acres, all with access to the Caloosahatchee River. Just two homes have been built on the 12 lots that were purchased there. Another 14 lots are available and Valerie Thivierge said she and her husband are awaiting the market’s rebound.
- La Vita: Orchid Isles Corp., based in Aventura, had planned a 16-building, high-rise condominium complex for a 19-acre site at the corner of Colonial Boulevard and Metro Parkway in Fort Myers. Each of the 475 homes was to have a view of the water, provided by the man-made lake that was part of the plans. The site has been cleared, but never built upon. The property is now on the market for commercial uses, after a zoning change.
- Jaguar Rampage Business Center: A three-building commercial complex was planned for a roughly five-acre site on Metro Parkway, just south of Colonial. Plans had called for a 6,000-square-foot building facing Metro, a 43,000-square-foot two-story building to its rear, and a 13,000-square-foot building running perpendicular to Metro. The land owner, Luann Workman Collins, tabled those plans in late 2007 because of the slumping economy. Collins said last week that she has also tabled plans to sell the land and is now awaiting the market’s rebound because she believes the future is bright for that section of Metro.
- Harbour Plaza: It’s a 45,490-square-foot shopping center located off U.S. 41, one mile south of Gladiolus Drive that has yet to land any occupants. Construction didn’t begin until the end of 2007 and the complex was ready for occupancy in the third quarter of 2008. The owner, Hank Porterfield, said he proceeded with the project because he felt there was a lack of upscale retail space nearby. He’s dropped lease rates from $25 a square foot to $18 a square foot, with incentives, to attract tenants. Porterfield said Harbour Plaza has begun attracting serious interest from prospective tenants.
- Coconut Crossing: J.E.D. of Southwest Florida has cleared 33 acres for the Coconut Crossing shopping center, located at the northwest corner of Coconut Road and U.S. 41. However construction has not begun there. The company didn’t return calls for more information on the project and its timetable.
- Metro Commons: Plans had called for a 16-building office complex on the east side of Metro Parkway, not far from its intersection with Six Mile Cypress Parkway. If those plans had come to fruition, half of those buildings would be complete, with work slated to end in the spring of 2010. Instead nothing has been built. A redesign is being considered that could see the bulk of the roughly 8.2-acre site dedicated to a senior assisted living facility, with a portion retained for medical-office space.
