| Local developers and city officials
outlined the future of commercial development in north Cape
Coral Thursday night.
The city of Cape Coral’s economic development director,
Mike Jackson, served as master of ceremonies for the Cape
Coral Construction Industry’s monthly meeting.
“We’re looking at the new frontier of Cape Coral,”
Jackson said.
Craig Dearden of Realmark presented an update of several projects,
including Entrada, which the company purchased in 2002. The
development straddles Del Prado Boulevard in the northeast
corner of the city.
Dearden said D.R. Horton is developing 165 acres of land northwest
of Del Prado. The company is planning approximately 500 single-family
and multi-family units.
U.S. Homes is developing the section of Entrada to the southeast
of Del Prado. The company is planning 721 single-family homes.
Realmark also has plans for the northeast corner of the Entrada
project. The company has set aside 50 acres for commercial
use. The commercial area will feature a shopping center with
an anchor grocery and 14 out-parcels for other businesses.
Realmark Group has also bought 280 acres of land south of
the original Entrada purchase. The company plans to develop
334 single-family homes and 900 multi-family homes.
On Pine Island Road, Dearden said Realmark Group is developing
a multi-family project that will include 1,000 units and 60
acres of preserve at Judd Creek.
Gary Tasman of Grubb & Ellis VIP Commercial outlined more
than 20 projects coming to Pine Island Road, running from
Burnt Store Road to the Judd Creek project across the street
from Merchants Crossing Shopping Center. Tasman said the timing
for many of the projects, which include a Publix at Burnt
Store Road, a Super Wal-Mart and a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery,
will depend on the widening of the corridor.
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The projects listed by Tasman,
which should be completed in the relatively near future, will
provide the city with more than 2.5 million square feet of
commercial development. The projects will include 1.5 million
square feet of retail space, more than 100,000 square feet
of office space and almost 900,000 square feet of industrial
space.
The projects will cover a total of 300 acres of commercial
land. The total land area of the Pine Island Corridor is approximately
2,400 acres.
“This is a pretty good start,” Jackson said.
Joe Mazurkiewicz, a private consultant and former Cape Coral
mayor, shared with the audience some of his own insights into
the development of Burnt Store Road. He said in 1989, the
city submitted a plan to the state calling for commercial
land use along Burnt Store Road, but the state rejected it,
claiming the city didn’t have the population to support
it.
Over the past 15 years, many homes have been built near Burnt
Store Road. Mazurkiewicz said it was foolish for anybody to
think that commercial development would never reach Burnt
Store Road.
Because homes continue to pop up throughout north Cape Coral,
Annette Barbaccia, the city’s planning division manager,
said her office is working on a new land use designation that
will allow commercial development to co-exist with single-family
homes.
Barbaccia said the Commercial Activity Center land use was
created to promote mix-used development. She said it is actually
broken down into many different types, which allow for different
combinations of commercial, professional and residential development.
Barbaccia said existing development would dictate the specific
mix. She said once the land use is in place, city council
will be able to set the zoning to speed up development.
Barbaccia said the Cape Coral City Council has already approved
the Commercial Activity Center land use for transmittal to
the state’s Department of Community Affairs. The city
should receive an answer from the DCA by December.
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