Futurescape 2008: Brokers, developers look ahead
By Brian Liberatore • bliberatore@news-press.com • March 20, 2008

As the economy hobbles along, developers are eyeing the hiatus in housing development as a window for commercial growth in the Cape.

Plans for mixed use and massive commercial projects dominated discussions Tuesday during Futurescape 2008. The event, sponsored by the Women's Council of Realtors, attracted hundreds of real estate brokers, developers and investors to the First Baptist Church of Cape Coral to share plans and ponder the future of Cape Coral's growth.

"It's an exciting time to be in Cape Coral," said Carl Schwing, Cape Coral's assistant city manager. "We've got a lot of opportunities. I know what the real estate market is like and I'm excited that we're seeing some additional activity."

Helping accommodate commercial growth elsewhere, the city is looking to annex up to a square mile of property in several parcels north of Cape Coral. The city hopes it can zone large swaths of land for commercial development making the parcels an attractive investment for developers.

Recently annexed property in the city includes a 2,500-acre parcel in the north owned by the Zemel Trust. Annette Barbaccia of AMB Planning Consultants is working with Zemel Trust to develop a portion of the property. The parcel, Barbaccia said, holds the potential for 11 million square feet of commercial development and the possibility of environment-friendly industry.

"I think what we're really looking for is clean industry," said Gloria Tate, a member of the Women's Board of Realtors.

"Imagine the difference when we can say (to a developer) we have these 250 acres. You don't have to buy all these lots over 10 years."

Pine Island Road

Despite boasting a population of over 170,000, developers have historically "missed the mark" on Cape Coral's potential for commercial growth, according to Dale Hafele, a partner with the North American Properties development group.

Hafele's company brought a BJ's wholesale store to Pine Island Road about three years ago, where it stood as an island of commerce in an otherwise undeveloped area. Speaking Tuesday evening, Hafele credited the store with fueling a flurry of economic development along the Pine Island Road Corridor including a SuperTarget and several restaurants such as Panera Bread, which has the distinction of the highest volume of sales in the national chain's stores.

"Why has our company invested so much in Cape Coral?" Hafele said. "The Cape is a market we still consider to be underserved by national retailers, because of this wonderful climate we live in, because of this City Council's commitment to smart growth."

Restaurants Chili's and the Olive Garden also will open in the same Coral Walk plaza as Panera.

Elmer Tabor, proprietor of Wonderland Realty and a longtime proponent of progress in the Cape, detailed plans to contribute to Pine Island Road's growth with a 94-room Hampton Inn Suites on the corner of Pine Island Road and Hancock Creek Boulevard. The hotel is at the eastern border of the city.

Tabor partnered with developer Greg Eagle and hotelier Fred Hirschovits to build and open the hotel, which they say will bring in 30 new jobs with a payroll of over $500,000. The hotel could mean an annual infusion of $150,000 in lodging taxes, Hirschovits said, and could bring up to $5 million in outside dollars into the area.

North of Pine Island Road on the corner of Diplomat Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard, Garrison development is planning to build the Diplomat Shoppes at Del Prado shopping plaza.

The project highlights the difficulty of building commercial property by accumulating smaller residential properties. During a City Council meeting earlier this month, council members made clear their intentions to reject the project if the Garrison group could not secure a purchase agreement with a homeowner whose house would have been surrounded by the development. The homeowner and the developer signed a purchase agreement that night.

Downtown

Capitalizing on the Cape's abundance of waterfront property, developers are eyeing property in the southwest Cape for extensive redevelopment.

Barbaccia, the president of AMB Planning Consultants, detailed her client Tom Cirrincione's plans for a $500 million project to reshape downtown.

AMB has finished conceptual plans, Barbaccia said, on the Piazza di Venezia, a mixed-use development that would feature 1,000 residential units, 91,000 square feet of restaurant space, 500,000 square feet of retail, a 2,000-seat theater, two five-star hotels, a convention center and a boat barn.

"It'll change the face of downtown," Barbaccia said.

The project along Cape Coral Parkway stretches from Coronado to Triton Court and will include a new east to west road parallel to the parkway to handle traffic increases.

Another of Barbaccia's clients, Robbie A. Lee Jr. of Island Development, is working on $300 million worth of downtown development in the Village Square and Venetian Towers. His company recently finished the Entrada project in north Cape Coral.

More condos to come

Even with the slowdown in residential building, developers are still floating plans for condominiums and gated communities.

The Cape Grande group is looking to build four developments with a total of 522 residential units. Among the developments is a 14-story high-rise near the Cape Coral Bridge off of Cape Coral Parkway overlooking the Caloosahatchee River known as La Brise.

Tuesday night, consultant Joe Mazurkiewicz spoke of plans for expanding office space near City Hall and constructing gated communities in the north of the Cape. Those properties, Mazurkiewicz said, could be ready for construction when the city expands utilities. Mazurkiewicz highlighted walkable, sustainable communities with light commercial intermingled with residential.

"Developers are planning for future growth when the market inventory is bought up," said Tate. "For every home that we sell, that's what drives the market for shopping and dining."

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/NEWS0101/803200331/1003/ACC

Barbaccia, the president of AMB Planning Consultants, detailed her client Tom Cirrincione's plans for a $500 million project to reshape downtown.

AMB has finished conceptual plans, Barbaccia said, on the Piazza di Venezia, a mixed-use development that would feature 1,000 residential units, 91,000 square feet of restaurant space, 500,000 square feet of retail, a 2,000-seat theater, two five-star hotels, a convention center and a boat barn.

"It'll change the face of downtown," Barbaccia said.

The project along Cape Coral Parkway stretches from Coronado to Triton Court and will include a new east to west road parallel to the parkway to handle traffic increases.


http://cmsimg.news-press.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A4&Date=20080320&Category=NEWS0101&ArtNo=803200331&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Gosh Florida Future:),
Our Tampa bay Master and friend,
Reminds me of " Williams Island " down in Aventura, fla,
Miami -Dade county,
same Medditeraian village setting,
Did I spell that one wrong, LOL.
getting old and " a little excited " here.:nuts:

beautiful renderings, Too.
I hope it gets completed and built as it looks here in your Great updates,
please keep us informed on this Great Cape Coral project.:cheers:

Gosh Florida Future:),
Our Tampa bay Master and friend,
Reminds me of " Williams Island " down in Aventura, fla,
Miami -Dade county,
same Medditeraian village setting,
Did I spell that one wrong, LOL.
getting old and " a little excited " here.:nuts:

beautiful renderings, Too.
I hope it gets completed and built as it looks here in your Great updates,
please keep us informed on this Great Cape Coral project.:cheers:
You're SOOO energetic! :banana: :D

I like the project. Looks great.

CRA looks to change incentive program

The Community Redevelopment Agency wants to take out hurdles for developers aiming to create a sense of place.

In a two-hour presentation to City Council today, Community Redevelopment Agency Chair John Jacobson, laid out the CRA’s goals for redeveloping downtown Cape Coral and the council’s role in making that a reality.

“We’re going to make it easier for the developers,” said Richard Orth, a project manager with the CRA, “make it easier for them to qualify for incentives.”

The CRA administers an incentive program that uses a percentage of a developer’s local tax bill to pay for publicly beneficial elements of a project, such as infrastructure, utility improvements and public amenities. The CRA needs the council’s approval to change its incentive program.

Jacobson pointed to City Place, an open-air commercial complex in West Palm Beach, with a pedestrian-friendly plaza. It’s the type of project, Jacobson said, that could transform the Cape.

“There is such a gap between what we have downtown and what we could have downtown,” Jacobson said.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=bfb61d3d310144dda99b3277c9ba8fff&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=bfb61d3d310144dda99b3277c9ba8fff&plckPostId=Blog%3abfb61d3d310144dda99b3277c9ba8fffPost%3a80a614e9-86fe-4520-b6c8-a3690e376a0e&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

Cape CRA outlines vision of vibrant city
Agency hopes to establish strong sense of place
By Brian Liberatore • bliberatore@news-press.com • April 8, 2008

Downtown events consistently crowd the Cape's Club Square, Mayor Eric Feichthaler noted Monday, and "it's not an attractive place."

John Jacobsen, who heads the Cape Coral Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency, agrees.

"Imagine what Club Square would be if it was pretty," Jacobsen said. Jacobsen spoke Monday to the City Council about the future of his agency and its long-term goal to establish a sense of place in the city - with a cultural, social and commercial center that favors pedestrians.

In the two-hour presentation, Jacobsen laid out the CRA's goals for redeveloping downtown Cape Coral and the council's role in making that a reality.

"We're going to make it easier for the developers," said Richard Orth, a project manager with the CRA, "make it easier for them to qualify for incentives."

The CRA administers an incentive program that uses a percentage of a developer's local tax bill to pay for publicly beneficial elements of a project, such as infrastructure, utility improvements and public space. The CRA needs the council's approval to change its incentive program.

Citing success elsewhere, Jacobsen pointed to CityPlace, an open-air commercial complex in West Palm Beach with a pedestrian-friendly plaza. The City of West Palm Beach partnered with developers to make CityPlace possible, Jacobsen said. It's the type of project, he added, that could transform the Cape.

In the presentation, Jacobsen broadcast a short video from author, journalist and city-design advocate James Howard Kunstler, who describes the country's race to accommodate the automobile as, "the greatest misapplication of resources in the history of the world."

A new era in city planning, Jacobsen said, is revisiting the value of mixed use development and moving away from big box retail and suburban sprawl.

"Redevelopment can only happen if we have the political will to allow it to happen and to make it happen," Jacobsen said.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS0101/804080397/1003/ACC

Study suggests Cape CRA should think big
Large developers could attract people downtown
By Brian Liberatore • bliberatore@news-press.com • April 12, 2008

Cape Coral has too strong a market to focus on the little fish, a new study suggests.

The study, commissioned by the Cape Coral Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency, advises the Cape go after large-scale developers with the means to turn Cape’s downtown from a collection of mom-and-pops into a regional shopping destination.

“You have the population, you have higher-than-average household incomes,” said Cape’s Downtown CRA board chairman John Jacobsen. “You have a tremendous amount of money that would be spent downtown, but it’s not spent downtown because there is no place to do it.”

The study by the Orlando-based civil consulting firm MSCW finds a gap between the nearby buying power — $74 million dollars worth of disposable income within a five-minute drive of downtown — and opportunities for shopping.

While the large-scale projects are a good direction for the city, local developer Elmer Tabor points out the city services don’t support that level of development.


“They don’t have the capability to take the sewer away from them or get the water to them with the old 1968 systems that are in the Cape,” Tabor said, noting the traffic from a project also would overwhelm the city’s roadways. “I think the overall infrastructure master plan that they’re doing needs to get off the planning mode and get into installation mode.”

The CRA, the study says, should set its sights on attracting a development project that brings 150,000 to 250,000 square feet of retail, upscale restaurants, a hotel and a profusion of public space.

That one project, should it be a success, would spur confidence in developers, investors and banks as well as snowball investment in downtown, the study finds.

To see success downtown, Tabor said, the city needs to grow its mom-and-pop establishments and build its public works along with the large-scale development.

“I think we’ve got all the pieces of the puzzle,” Tabor said. “I think we’ve just got to start to putting the puzzle together.”

The CRA Tuesday released a draft of the study. A few more revisions could follow before the CRA signs off on the final document, Jacobsen said. The CRA paid $27,500 for the Core Area Master Plan Market Analysis.

Several developers have come forward with plans to bring large-scale mixed-use developments to downtown including:

• Piazza di Venezia, a mixed-use development in the Cape’s downtown that would feature 1,000 residential units, 91,000 square feet of restaurant space, 500,000 square feet of retail, a 2,000-seat theater, two five-star hotels and a boat barn.

• Village Square, which includes 156 residential condos, retail shops and professional offices with more than 1,000 parking spots.

• Venetian Towers, a six-story pedestrian-friendly mixed use project.
With the market analysis suggesting success, the real challenge will be convincing risk-averse bankers to back the developers, according to Frank Schnidman of Florida Atlantic University.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/NEWS0101/80411049/1003/ACC

Gosh Florida Future:),
Our Tampa bay Master and friend,
Reminds me of " Williams Island " down in Aventura, fla,
Miami -Dade county,
same Medditeraian village setting,
Did I spell that one wrong, LOL.
getting old and " a little excited " here.:nuts:

beautiful renderings, Too.
I hope it gets completed and built as it looks here in your Great updates,
please keep us informed on this Great Cape Coral project.:cheers:

It does look like a nice project. Of course it's hard to tell from the rendering but it appears the architecture has some good detail that would be expected in such an upscale project as well. Which is a distinguishing factor between good Med. architectual and bad Med. architecture.

Here's more renderings of the project I found:
http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/piazaInterior.jpg

http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/piazaParkway.jpg

Site Plan
http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/piazaSitePlan.jpg

• Village Square, which includes 156 residential condos, retail shops and professional offices with more than 1,000 parking spots.

I found renderings of this project too:
http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/VillageElevation2007.jpg

http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/VillageFountain.jpg

Site plan
http://www.bradfordesign1.com/html/images/newImages/VillageLayout.jpg

Both of these projects have the same architect:
http://www.bradfordesign1.com/

I really like both projects. :yes:

Nice projects!

those are the biggest projects ive ever seen(for the style)....good for cape coral!

Grossssss

Downtown utilities on agenda
Panel to meet with utility companies
By Brian Liberatore • bliberatore@news-press.com • April 17, 2008

Before Cape Coral's downtown can see redevelopment, it needs to see utilities, officials say.

Members of the Cape Coral Downtown Community Development have planned an all-day workshop Saturday with representatives from utility companies to hash out just what can and should be done in downtown to upgrade utilities.

"We want to get all the partners in the room together and get everybody to agree to a common goal and vision," said John Jacobsen, the chairman of the CRA board. "We're going to step back and let the utilities come to a common consensus."

One of those utility companies, the Tampa-based TECO Energy, has been working with the CRA and Cape Coral officials on the possibility of extending gas service south along Del Prado Boulevard to the downtown district.

"The meetings have been very positive," said Richard Orth, a project manager with the CRA.

TECO representatives met with Cape Coral engineers earlier this month, according to Cape Coral spokesperson Connie Barron, to discuss the right of way issues inherent in extending gas lines.

Officials from TECO could not immediately be reached for comment.

Currently, businesses in downtown that require gas service now have to install freestanding gas containers. The gas containers raise a host of safety, convenience and cost issues, Orth said.

"Having the appropriate sized infrastructure is imperative for redevelopment," Orth said. "It's one of the first problems you look to correct."

The gas joins other infrastructure deficiencies, including water and sewer, electricity and traffic capacity, that the CRA wants to address, Orth said.

The CRA's Saturday meeting is the latest step in putting together a complete plan for upgrading utilities in the CRA district to attract more investment. That plan, which Orth said is about 70 percent done, should be completed by the end of the year.

In a presentation to City Council earlier this month, Jacobsen outlined the goals for the CRA, citing the organization's push to attract large-scale transformative projects to downtown Cape Coral. That kind of development, Jacobsen had said, would require the right type of utilities.

"It could make all the difference for a restaurant, or for residential components," Jacobsen said.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080417/NEWS0101/804170319/1003/ACC

City planners dislike Cape Coral Golf Club proposal
Owners want to build shops, offices, homes
By Brian Liberatore • bliberatore@news-press.com • June 22, 2008

City planners have joined a chorus of neighbors opposing a plan to turn the former Cape Coral Golf Club into a mixed-use development.

The city's Planning and Growth Division this week recommended elected officials vote down a proposal from Florida Gulf Ventures to turn the defunct course, which closed in July 2006, into retail shops, offices and multifamily residences.

The project is set to go before the city's Planning Commission July 23.

"While staff is receptive to the idea of redeveloping the now defunct golf course, the proposed land use amendment has the possibility of permitting too much development for the surrounding residential neighborhood," a report from the city reads.

The report is filed among hundreds of letters stretching back a year from nearby residents all decrying the project.

"This property was a legacy!" wrote Marianne Meyer, who lives near the course.

"This course is very much a part of the history of Cape Coral," wrote C & W Davis. "Find another alternative for development!"

The 175-acre property is now zoned for park and recreation uses. The course, the Cape's oldest, originally opened in the late 1960s.

Florida Golf Ventures asked the city more than a year ago to change the zoning to allow for mixed uses.

With the threat of commercial development looming, hundreds of neighbors last year formed Save Our Recreation, a nonprofit organization with the sole purpose of preserving the course.

"I believe the golf course was managed in a way that it was run down," said Joe Mazurkiewicz, owner of BJM Consulting.

Save Our Recreation members hired Mazurkiewicz, a former Cape Coral mayor, to represent their cause.

"I don't think they (Florida Gulf Ventures) made the effort to run it properly. It's the only golf course in the middle of 50,000 people with disposable incomes. If it was run properly it could have been very successful."

Bill Nolan, a consultant with Florida Gulf Ventures, said the company hasn't changed its strategy.

"The (Planning and Zoning Commission) is going to have their input," he said. "We have cast our die and we have told them what we want to do. Now we see what their reaction is going to be."

City planners noted the use change would require major upgrades to infrastructure, contradicts the city's comprehensive plans and might disrupt well-established neighborhoods.

The final decision on the land change rests with the City Council.

Mazurkiewicz said the group's intentions are understandable. The course, he estimated, was worth about $12 or $14 million as a golf course. Maybe more.

"With a mixed use land use, it's close to $100 million," he said. "There's a lot of money on the table."

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/NEWS0101/806220343/1003/ACC

Cape Coral to install downtown sidewalks
Work at Club Square should make area more accessible
By Jason Wermers • jwermers@news-press.com • June 26, 2008

They're not big, nor will they make much of a difference in the grand scheme of downtown Cape Coral redevelopment.

But the decorative sidewalks to be installed in Club Square beginning next week are a small step in what the Community Redevelopment Agency hopes will be a more pedestrian-friendly and accessible downtown.

Construction on the two new sidewalks, on the southeast and northwest sides of Club Square, is scheduled to begin next week, city spokeswoman Connie Barron said.

"When Club Square was platted in the '50s and '60s, they had four sidewalks going east and west out of the parking lot," said Richard Orth, project manager for the CRA. "Those sidewalks were never improved. We looked at that and said we wanted to make this parking lot more user-accessible."

Club Square is home to Vineyard Community Church, fraternal organizations and several businesses. It is close to several other downtown Cape Coral businesses and just off Southeast 47th Terrace, which is closed down several times a year for parades and motorcycle "bike nights."

One sidewalk already has been built, on the northeast corner, by La Venezia Ballroom and Catering. Orth said the CRA hopes to add park benches and decorative lighting to that sidewalk, as well as the other two that will be built.

Some motorists have apparently mistaken the northeast sidewalk as a driveway and driven on it, only to face a curb, rather than a driveway slope, onto Southeast 11th Place. Orth said the CRA plans to install barriers to prevent that.

Barron said the sidewalks should take about three or four weeks to install. Orth said the park benches and decorative lighting will take a little longer, but he hopes the project will be finished by September.

The Rev. Jamie Stilson, pastor of Vineyard Community Church, said he is glad the sidewalks are coming in. He added that he likes the direction of downtown redevelopment, especially the installation of four-way stop signs at Southeast 10th Place and Southeast 47th Terrace, which near the entrance to his church and serves as the south entryway into Club Square.

"We were shouting 'Hallelujah!' for that stop sign because people drive crazily down there," Stilson said.

As for the sidewalks, their installation will be temporarily messy.

"But, hey, progress is messy," he said. "We think it will be a positive. Just that they are doing something to get started on this community redevelopment is a show of progress."

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Developers sought to build ice rink, hotel on Cape Coral city property
news-press.com • August 11, 2008

Cape Coral council members this afternoon are scheduled to consider asking for bids from investors interested in building an ice rink and hotel on city property.

The developer would lease 10 acres for a minimal amount next to the Sun Splash water park on Santa Barbara Boulevard.

The idea is to make the water park, along with the hotel and ice rink, a major tourism draw for the city, said Mike Jackson, Cape Coral economic development director.

The council meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. at city hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080811/NEWS0101/80811036/1003/ACC

nvm

I don't spend much time in Cape Coral but was driving down Del Prado and a few of the other main roads and thinking what potential the area has - especially with lowered land prices. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.