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What began more than three years ago when a deep-pocketed
developer from Georgia plunked down his first dollar in southwest
Cape Coral has now morphed into a full-blown explosion of
soon-to-be developed communities throughout the city in a
wide range of prices.
“The race is on, gentlemen,” Bob Hensley, president
of Grosse Pointe Development, told a gathering of about 140
business leaders Friday morning at Gulf Coast Village during
a meeting of the Cape Coral Council For Progress.
Currently immersed in transforming Tarpon Point Marina from
an element of the historic Rose Garden to a high-end luxury
community, Hensley is poised to break ground on an 18-story
hotel and two restaurants for his Marina Village subdivision,
beginning early in 2004.
Investors are flocking to the Cape in droves, both developers
with large-scale projects and baby boomers ready to retire.
In the last 14 months, Hensley has done more than $100 million
in business at Tarpon Point, he said.
Will Stout, who preceded Hensley to the Cape by about a year
when he broke ground on Cape Harbour, has since expanded his
holdings to include Burnt Store Marina in the northwest and
Entrada, a fledgling community in the northeast which he sees
as the eventual gateway to Cape Coral from points north.
Stout, who served as president and chief operating officer
of Coldwell Banker Buckhead Brokers in Atlanta before purchasing
Cape Harbour from Cape Coral Holdings in January 2000, sees
Entrada as filling a void in the city. A mixed-use community
with homes ranging in price from $139,000-$400,000, Stout
said the community also will serve to complement nearby projects
such as Sunset Lakes and Heatherwood Lakes, both being built
by Kinsey Development, as well as two city-driven initiatives:
the Academic Village, a campus which proponents hope will
contain a high school, branch college or university, and perhaps
a public library; and a 400-acre parcel owned by both Cape
Coral and Lee County targeted for a major park offering “passive”
use.
Entrada, which means “entrance” in Italian, will
feature a decorative gateway arch over the nearby Del Prado
Extension. Positioned nearby
I-75, Stout sees the archway as a tool to market one of the
fastest growing cities in the state.
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“We think Entrada is the smart way to brand Cape Coral,”
he said.
Currently in the permitting stage, the gateway arch will be
completed by Oct. 30 of this year, Stout said.
“We will build it and give it to the city,” he
added.
Assistant City Manager Howard Kunik said negotiations still
are under way with the Lee County School Board to build a
high school on a portion of the 171-acre Academic Village
site. Negotiations with colleges and universities also are
ongoing.
City Council approved the $6.8 million transaction in February,
and Kunik said the city hopes to finalize the purchase next
month, pending final approval by the U.S. Army Corps.
“This is sorely needed,” he said.
Michael Jackson, the city’s economic development director,
said his task is to market the Cape on the strength of three
primary investment “zones,” which are the downtown
Community Redevelopment Agency district, the Mid-Cape Commerce
Park, and the Pine Island Road Corridor. Some developers will
prefer to initiate their projects in established commercial
areas poised to move forward, while others will feel more
comfortable in open, “virgin” ground such as along
Pine Island Road.
Jackson also said a push for more industrial development is
likely in the Cape in the years to come to ease the tax burden
on residential property owners. To that end, Jackson said
he plans to put together “incentive packages”
to attract large-scale industrial development.
“In other cities, things need to be torn down in order
to make progress. We don’t have that here,” he
said.
CRA Chairman Gary Aubuchon said he anticipates the taxable
value of the downtown area doubling within the next five years,
and perhaps even “quadrupling” in 10.
The CRA boundaries recently were extended east and west to
facilitate developer interest in parcels along Bimini Basin
and nearby the Cape Coral Bridge.
“We envision something spectacular at each end of the
city,” Aubuchon said.
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