Sunday, February 24, 2019

Fort Myers City Council Approves Final Version of Midtown Vision Plan

On January 7, 2019 the Fort Myers City Council received and approved the Midtown Vision Plan. Midtown is an area immediately south of downtown Ft. Myers and sits between Cleveland Avenue to the west, Evans Avenue to the east, Edison Avenue to the south and Dr. MLK Blvd. to the north. According to a consultant with the University of South Florida there are currently fewer than 100 residents in the area.

The Plan calls for approximately 4,000 new residential units of affordable and work-force housing and close to 600,000 square feet of office and commercial space. Public and civic spaces are also included in the Plan. Under the Plan the City of Palms Park would be demolished and replaced with a town center.

The first phase of development could occur within the next four to six years and would include the town center, some housing and transportation improvements. The final phase of the Plan is scheduled in the next six to seven years.

In conjunction with the revitalization of downtown, the larger city of Ft. Myers has the potential to become a draw for new business, year-round visitors and conventions.

The Ft. Myers of the past was considered by many to be merely a stopping off place for those headed to the white, sandy, shelling beaches of Sanibel Island or elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon Ft. Myers could become the destination itself.

As we begin 2019 this may bode well for someone hoping to buy a condominium along the Fort Myer’s waterfront, a single family home along McGregor Boulevard or find affordable housing in Midtown. As the old real estate adage says, “The best time to buy real estate is today and ten years ago.”

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