6 days ago
Can Fort Myers Beach close door to what's ahead? Potentially not anymore with 'precedent'
For Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers, the island's future might have gotten a little muddied with this week's Town Council approval of the Moss Marina entertainment complex and hotel.
"Asking for a 200% increase in density is difficult for me to get behind," said Allers, who voted against the planned Arches Bayfront. "To me, this is something that could potentially open a door. And I'm not a person that likes to use the word, precedent. But to me this opens a door that's never been opened on this island."
Here's what to know.
The Arches backing comes after at least a couple of recent major development approvals by the council, which helped provide a path for Moss Marina operator Ben Freeland to give it another shot after being largely rebuffed the past couple of years or so.
Changing numerous zoned residential properties to commercial as part of adding to the marina, the latest plans call for a 263-room hotel and other structures rising to about 100 feet featuring dining, bars and retail along a bayfront promenade wedged between Old San Carlos Boulevard and a neighborhood.
Many nearby residents pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that approval would be coming from a current council that has backed other major endeavors in recent months. Instead, as the island continues to recover from 2022's Hurricane Ian and subsequent storms, they pushed for some concessions to reduce noise and traffic by their houses after construction begins.
"I'm here representing the neighbors who aren't here because they already know you're going to change our neighborhood," said resident Chris Mosteiro, who represented owners of 15 homes and properties in submitting a letter to the council. "I'm representing the neighbors that are out of town. I'm here representing the neighbors who are exhausted after years of rebuilding."
The mayor agreed that "this neighborhood will be impacted," and that he could "honestly say" it was not in line "with what the comprehensive plan and land development code sought out to do, specifically with commercial intrusion." And the town staff agreed in recommending against the enterprise.
"It appears incompatible with the residential neighborhoods that are directly abutting and has the potential to create additional nuisances, such as noise and traffic, both vehicle and pedestrian, into the residential area," said Town Principal Planner Judith Frankel.
Freeland said he's been doing his best working with residents and city leaders and reduced the size of what he had in mind while offering amenities to the public, which helped lead to support from four of the five council members, such as Vice-Mayor Jim Atterholt.
"I thought to his credit, he made some significant commitments to not only operating a water ferry terminal but also operating a water ferry," said Atterholt, as some ferry specifics need to be worked out. "I think this project is in the public benefit. I think we've again as an island done an excellent job, (and) I'm obviously also excited about the ferry and a number of other things that this has to offer."
At one point, there were at least 400 units in play on the nearly 5 acres for what has been tabbed as Arches Bayfront Resort, near the shadow of the Matanzas Pass Bridge. Arches would have buildings varying in height between one and seven stories, with a total maximum height of 102 feet, according to what's been drawn up. By comparison, the six-story Marina Village at Snug Harbor next door has an overall height of 71 feet, town records show.
A goal has been to get interest in the compound from potential companies, said Moss consultant Patrick Vanasse, president of The Neighborhood Company: "The Freelands will be the developer/builder. They're going to turn this to an operator. Obviously, they need to make their resort attractive to get the best operator possible."
No exact construction start date has been set as Freeland sorts through potential contractors. "This is going to be a very high-end resort," he said. "We prefer to build it all at once ― more efficient if you could do it all at once. (The) goal would be to build it all at the same time."
Even though Allers didn't back it, the mayor appreciated some of the scaling back, such as the number of hotel units. "Where it came from to where it is now is leaps and bounds," he said. "I do support a project there. I just can't support the project as it's proposed, but I appreciate all the negotiations back and forth."
Freeland had told In the Know last summer that he was not giving up and had gone back to "the drawing board reimagining the site." He also hired The Neighborhood Company, with its Fort Myers Beach roots that has been involved in various endeavors on Estero Island.
Going back to about when Margaritaville made its historic debut in December 2023 after a long and winding road, Freeland then said he expected his project to come back as well, about 110 paces from his new Jimmy Buffett-inspired neighbor. At the time, he was disappointed by the continued reluctance by the town to change its land use plan that would pave the path for his endeavor, saying "We strongly believe we're on the right track to be an important part of our island's rebuild."
Freeland had put the project on pause in October 2023 after members of the Beach Town Council and planning board signaled they didn't plan to deviate far from the comprehensive plan that's been in place for almost three decades. The plan is a blueprint that guides future land use, such as density.
However, some residents feel the Town Council may have gone too far in recent approvals of the Pink Shell expansion and especially the high rises to replace the Red Coconut RV park, saying it may lead to more major development. As In the Know has reported, the Coconut, as approved near the library, would rise as high as 17 stories and occupy space 10 times larger than the White House. Pink Shell received backing for a new 40-room structure that could rise six stories above the bay on the north side.
In the Know: Latest on Buc-ee's SWFL opening. Company leaders address traffic concerns
The Freeland family has gone to battle with the town in the past and prevailed.
Just before the turn of the century, they won a suit over their gambling yacht operation after officials raised concerns about parking and licensing.
Captiva: South Seas holds official grand reopening just in time for hurricane season
As originally conceived, Freeland, working with the Restore the Arches group, has been wanting to have a memorial dedicated to the iconic Beach symbol along the planned bay walk as a way to educate the public about the history tied to them.
The late entrepreneur Tom Phillips perched gateway stone bell tower arches in 1924 on the future San Carlos Boulevard near the McGregor Boulevard intersection to promote massive development he had planned to assemble but didn't execute due to a variety of factors. He had planted a similar arch of native coral rock not far from where the Sky Bridge to Fort Myers Beach is now.
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@ grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know, one of USA TODAY Network's most read local news columns in the state. Support democracy. Subscribe to a newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fort Myers Beach future: 'Door that's never been opened on the island'
