Cape welcomes entrance plan

$750,000 monument to be built across Del Prado Boulevard

The News-Press, Wednesday, October 08, 2003

By Jeff Cull

Tourists, visitors and residents driving into Cape Coral from U.S. 41 in the city’s northeast soon will be greeted by a monument entrance that could be the grandest in Southwest Florida.

Will Stout, developer of Cape Harbour, Meta and Entrada, is building a “Welcome to Cape Coral” monument that will span all four lanes of Del Prado Boulevard Extension near North Fort Myers.

The nearly $750,000 project should be finished by the end of the year, said Pete McGough, director of development for Realmark, Stout’s development group. When it’s complete, Stout is deeding the structure to the city, but he will maintain it.

“It’s just a beautiful entryway,” said Councilman Tim Day, who along with all seven other council members approved the project at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

McGough said the permits are ready and the builder is expected to begin shortly.

The wording on the sign, however, has not been determined. That’s up to the city – Realmark doesn’t get a say, McGough said.

Originally, Stout wanted a Mediterranean-style footbridge over the Del Prado Extension, but state regulators rejected that idea. The latest design still incorporates the European look but now has decorative metalwork spanning three stucco towers with tile roofs.

The monument also will give newcomers a brief introduction into what Stout and several national builders have in store for Entrada – a 730-acre site just south of the entrance monument.

Ryland Homes, KB Home, Engle Homes and Realmark plan to build 1,700 new homes in what is quickly becoming the Cape’s next “hot” area – the northeast.

Homes in the development will be priced from about $140,000 to nearly $400,000 and will be designed to take advantage of the natural wetlands and the 400-acre preserve adjacent to the site, Realmark officials said.