Commercial, residential real estate changing hands
The new Myerside Resort in Fort Myers Beach when completed will boast 45 hotel rooms and four apartments where 13 cottages once stood before Hurricane Ian. Courtesy, Myerside Resort
On this two-year anniversary after Hurricane Ian made landfall and spread devastation across a wide swath of Florida, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island are still among those recovering and rebuilding. The category 4 storm was the costliest in Sunshine State history, with over $112 billion in total damages, an estimated $21 billion in insurance claims, and was responsible for 66 direct deaths and another 90 indirect deaths in Florida from the catastrophic storm surge, damaging winds, and historic freshwater flooding across much of central and northern Florida.
FEMA recently extended its Direct Housing Program by six months after already spending over $10 billion on Ian. Currently, 250 families are still in FEMA temporary housing according to WGCU, but should all be moved to permanent housing solutions by March of next year. Up to 15 feet of storm surge coupled with 150 mph winds destroyed 5,076 homes and 284 businesses in Lee County alone, and many of those who evacuated came back to ruins where their livelihoods once stood. In the years that followed, many developers have come forward with proposals for condominium complexes and hotels that could revitalize the tourism economies of Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach – but not without a good bit of skepticism from the community.
Destruction from Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, September 30, 2022. Courtesy, Lee Co. Sheriff’s Office
Immediately after the storm, several beachfront properties – effectively vacant sand lots – changed hands, as chronicled in a comprehensive anniversary article from Florida Trend. The magazine reports more than $150 million in commercial property sales have occurred with another $126 million worth of sales listings as of May 2024. There are concerns that the historical foundation of these towns is shifting rapidly and may not retain the same easygoing beach charm that once called visitors from across the country to the white sands of Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach.
The first post-Hurricane Ian hotel, a 54,000-sq.ft. building to be named the Myerside Resort, was approved by the Fort Myers Beach Town Council in June, which required a myriad of zoning changes, including building height and density increases. Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jacki Liszak thinks many developers are waiting in the wings while Myerside acts as the town guinea pig, seeing how profits and community respond to the initial investment. “There’s a lot of strong interest from other developers waiting to come in…It’s important that we get some of these projects moving forward so they can start to show the way for what is acceptable in public opinion and what is not.”
Reimagining the beachside communities is a delicate balance between keeping in touch with the charming history of the area and paving a way forward after Ian’s wreckage. Developers contend that their record-breaking spending in the area will keep the heart of Lee County’s tourist destinations beating, and it seems local leaders are hesitantly onboard for the time being. “We know we can’t go back to what we had on September 27,” said Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers. “But that doesn’t mean we have to become the next Miami Beach, or the next Clearwater, or the next whatever-tourist-town. We want to make sure that we keep this a family-friendly place to live.”
LMA Newsletter of 9-30-24
