Developers reshaping Cape Coral's image;
It's now a hotbed for high-end homes

The News Press Sunday, April 29, 2001

by Judith Miller

CAPE CORAL - City supporters have boasted long and loud about Cape Coral's attributes; more canal miles than its Italian cousin Venice; the second-largest city, square mile-wise, in the state; a low crime rate and a relaxed lifestyle.

Until recently, few developers appeared to pay attention.

Many people viewed Cape Coral as a boring, blue-collar bedroom community not worth a second look.

As waterfront property in Collier County and south Lee County becomes more expensive and built up, developers are turning to Cape Coral and its 400 miles of salt and freshwater canals.

Part of the allure, real estate professionals say, is the infrastructure, utilities, roads and street lighting that are in place.

Another reason for the growth in the past three years is linked directly to the Midpoint Memorial Bridge, completed in 1997.

"Midpoint Bridge created easier access to and from the city," said Frank D'Alessandro, a commercial real estate broker and consultant.

"When you look at waterfront property in Southwest Florida, Cape Coral is the last bastion," said D'Alessandro.

Fort Myers waterfront property sold out faster and for more money than similar property in Cape Coral. It's another example of the "poor relative" images of the city.

CAPE CORAL: WATERFRONT ATTRACTS DEVELOPERS, BUYERS

What remains in Fort Myers are waterfront homes in the million-dollar-plus range, D'Alessandro said, but many must be torn down and rebuilt.

Waterfront land in and around Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs is scarce and expensive, he said. "Waterfront lots in Port Royal in Naples go for $4 (million) to $5 million," he said. "They're no better than Cape Coral."

Dieter and Joanne Jungclaus bought a home in Cape Harbour, one of the city's newest gated communities.

"We're boaters and we wanted to be on the water," Joanna Jungclaus said. "Naples is very formal, and much, much more expensive.

"Cape Coral really has it all," she said. "It's a wonderful secret."

Not anymore.

DEVELOPERS TAKE NOTICE

Developers such as The Realmark Cos., The Bonita Bay Group, and Grosse Point Development, Inc. in the past year spent more than $58 million for almost 1,200 acres.

Jim McGowen, vice president of acquisitions for Bonita Bay, said the company decided to take advantage of an opportunity to get more than 500 acres near the Royal Tee Golf Course, west of Chiquita Boulevard and south of Pine Island Road.

"When you look at the map, and the ability to assemble large parcels of land west of Interstate 75, there's not a lot of opportunity," he said.

Proximity and ease of access to Fort Myers, existing infrastructure and improvements along Pine Island Road all influenced the decision to buy now, he said.

Cape Coral, he said, "just has a lot of positives."

The company, which developed gated communities such as Bonita Bay and The Brooks in Bonita Springs, bought three tracts along Pine Island Road, totaling 524 acres, and while it has have no immediate plans for the property, McGowan said it will be a mix of commercial and residential development.

CAPE 'GROWING UP'

The need for more housing becomes clear when looking at census figures.

Cape Coral's population grew from just less than 75,000 in 1990 to more than 102,000 a decade later. City growth has caused property values to rise.

Lots, however, in Cape Coral go for between $10,000 off water and $600,000 waterfront, a price D'Alessandro - who writes a real estate column for The News-Press - calls "an absolute bargain."

Others in the real estate profession agree.

"I see this ratcheting up," said Georg Koszulinski of Remax Downtown in Cape Coral. "There's a new level of sophistication in Cape Coral.

Bob Johns, assistant city manager, summed it up: "We are growing up."

The city also broke the $200 million mark in new residential and commercial construction, recording $220 million in new construction, 90 percent of it residential.

The bulk of the building is single-family homes, but construction of multifamily dwellings also saw a marked increase.

Coral Cove Apartments on Four Mile Cove Parkway eventually will have 26 buildings containing 584 units, making it one of the city's largest housing developments.

The main reason for the new construction totals stems from the building of more expensive homes, officials said.

"Cape Coral is really coming into its own in the quality of the developments," Koszulinski said.

Million-dollar homes aren't exactly what the city's original developers, brothers Leonard and Jack Rosen, had in mind. When they subdivided the city, they sectioned it off in single-family home lots - about 350,000 of them - and built modest homes.

Some of the one-story houses still line the canals in the southeastern section of the city.

"It's really not the best use for property," Koszulinski said.

As owners sell those properties, buyers demolish the houses and build luxury homes, he said.

With all the miles of canals, plenty of undeveloped waterfront property still remains, especially in the northwest section of the city.

D'Alessandro predicted the northwest will be the next to be developed.

Most of the existing large tracts of land have been brought in by developers.

JUST THE BEGINNING

"I think this is just the beginning of the big developers coming in," Koszulinski said.

Cape Coral residential real estate purchases include:
• 524 acres on Pine Island Road by The Bonita Bay Group
• 300 acres at the end of Chiquita Blvd, Cape Harbour by The Realmark Cos.
• 150 acres at the end of Rose Garden Rose, Tarpon Point, by Grosse Point Development, Inc.

Developers look for large, one-owner parcels of land, but they're hard to find in Cape Coral because of the way the city was subdivided.

"It's the city's policy to encourage people to assemble land," said Carleton Ryffle, a city planner. "It's a difficult thing to do, since so many owners live around the world. Typically, the last few remaining houses tend to be expensive."

"It's a major hurdle, trying to amass land," Koszulinski said.

Available undeveloped land - although in a relatively small 5 and 10-acre tracts - remains along the Pine Island Road corridor and the streets that intersect with it, said Johns, the assistant city manager.

Inquiries have come into the city about available and ownership of land at Pine Island Road and Chiquita Boulevard, along the proposed Veterans Parkway extension and Burnt Store Road, and the Del Prado Boulevard extension in northeast Cape Coral, Johns said.

The city is in the final stages of completing the Pine Island Road master plan, and it will include some "mixed use" areas, meaning a blend of commercial and residential areas, he said.

Part of the plan calls for the installation of water and sewer service from Del Prado Boulevard to Chiquita Boulevard, he said.

"We're doing that to make that land truly development ready," Johns said. "As soon as water and sewer are in place, I think you'll see a lot of development taking place."

Some people say the city's time has come from large-scale development.

Others argue that unless more large tracts of land are consolidated and put on the market the city will finish building out one house at a time.

Some in Cape Coral real estate are doubtful the city will see continued high-end developments, D'Alessandro said.

"They told me it's an anomaly," he said. "I disagree."