Economic forecast for Cape looks good
4th annual Capeopoly draws more than 400
By Pete Skiba
pskiba@news-press.com

It lacked the snap and crackle of last year's program, but people in real estate and business were optimistic as they left a Thursday night assessment of the economic health of Cape Coral's real-estate industry.

"It looks like the economy might take an upturn. There were a lot of positive factors listed that help drive growth," Cape Coral resident Dave Renzella said. "I certainly got a more confident feeling from being here tonight."

Renzella was among more than 400 people who attended the fourth annual Capeopoly sponsored by the Cape Coral Council for Progress at the First Baptist Church on Del Prado Boulevard.

Economic forecaster Hank Fishkind of Fishkind & Associates — a financial-consulting firm with offices in Orlando, Naples and Port St. Lucie — was the keynote speaker.

He dealt first with the housing market.

"I doubt we'll have a bubble burst in real estate," Fishkind said. "I think we'll have a deflation."

The number of families starting out in Lee County and Cape Coral has not kept up with the number of housing permits issued and the number of homes being built, Fishkind said.

It could take two or more years for demand to eat up the inventory, he said, but in the meantime the industry still outpaces what it was doing more than four years ago.

Reasons for his optimism, Fishkind said, include:

• Tourism remains strong and has had great help from the recently opened Southwest Florida International Airport.

• The planned interchange at I-75 and Del Prado Boulevard will bring a lot of traffic to the Cape.

• Baby boomers still want second homes.

Following Fishkind, local business leaders Gary Tasman of VIP Commercial and Joe Mazurkiewicz of BJM Consulting Inc. filled in the crowd on local commercial development progress.

Talking about the Pine Island Road corridor, Tasman said a million square feet of industrial space, a million square feet of office space and 4 million square feet of retail space has been built, is under construction or has been planed.

A couple projects in the Cape were left for Mazurkiewicz to cover, including a planned regional mall that needs a section of Pine Island Road to be widened between Chiquita Boulevard and Burnt Store Road before it can be built.

He said a group of business leaders has found support for a Municipal Services Benefit Tax Unit to buy the rights of way, but didn't elaborate. They also have asked to have the Florida Department of Transportation design a smaller roadway expansion, he said.

"With all that information I'm excited about the business opportunities again," said Fort Myers resident Paige Rausch, a real-estate consultant. "I have some clients interested about Pine Island Road."