For some on Fort Myers Beach, Seagate’s 17-stories could open floodgates

When Hurricane Ian wiped out their home, Dapper and Kim Davidson didn't give up on Fort Myers Beach. They vowed to rebuild and purchased a condo behind their property to stay in while they constructed a new house.

When Hurricane Helene struck and flooded out their condo, they still were committed to returning to the island they love even though the condo they thought they would be staying in hasn't been inhabitable since Hurricane Ian.

And when Hurricane Milton came calling and demolished their home that was under construction at the corner of Estero Boulevard and Voorhis Street, the Davidsons still hadn't given up.

They love Fort Myers Beach too much. It's why there is a giant sign that says "I Love Fort Myers Beach" outside their property. Mr. Davidson constructed the sign – with the shape of a heart in the place of the word "love."

But the 17-story high Seagate Development Group condo tower could change their feelings for the beach. It could be enough for the Davidsons to take their cherished boat – the one that survived Hurricane Ian and all the other hurricanes – away from the island. They may have to take that boat they dress up every December with bright lights for the Fort Myers Beach Christmas Boat Parade and find a new home because for them – the Seagate development would take the small town charm away from Fort Myers Beach. It's 17-story tower – 14 stories higher than town code allows – would hover over near their home. Mr. Davidson said the Seagate property is about 180 feet away from their condo.

The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council's vote last week to approve the development for a second reading of an ordinance to allow the project to go through, was too much for the Davidsons.

"It's aggravating," Mr. Davidson said. "You might as well just give up. It's supposed to be a small town. They want to build monster buildings. It's like living in the city. We don't want to live in the city."

The couple has been staying in New Hampshire while they await a return to the island.

After Hurricane Ian, Mr. Davidson said he was only able to save his Red Sox shirt and his boat – which he found on top of two other boats.

Semi-retired, Davidson said the condo he and his wife own incurred about six inches of water after Hurricane Helene and another 16 inches of water after Hurricane Milton while taking out their electrical cabinets.

The Seagate Development Group project, as proposed, will include residential towers ranging from 11 stories high to 17 stories high.

"It's crazy," Mr. Davidson said. "It wasn't supposed to be that way. Nobody seems to care."

Davidson expects the project to take years to build out, leaving him and his wife stuck watching and hearing construction for the foreseeable future.

Seagate Development Group CEO Matt Price said he expects to build the condo towers in phases. Construction on the second tower would start construction depending on how many units are sold.

Davidson said the towers will be too close to Estero Boulevard, blocking his view and the view of neighbors to the Gulf of Mexico.

"If you are going to build high-rises, push them back to the rear of the property," Davidson said. He said the developers did not provide enough public benefit in exchange for the deviations they are receiving for the building height.

"I don't care about a water fountain. I don't care about a park either. I have a beach," Davidson said. "The beach is my park. Nobody on the island needs another park."

Tom Brady, of Madison Court, said he lives in the "shadow of the building" and said the development should be more spread out so it isn't as high. Brady is also concerned that town councilmembers could be approving the project out of concern's for the town's own finances. "I don't want to have a gun held to my head saying 'we need to approve this development because we are going to go bankrupt.' Are we going to go bankrupt if we don't have this thing built? I think it's nonsense," Brady said. "I think we are financially viable without this development."

Ellen Fulcher, who lives on Hibiscus Drive, said "17 stories is too high" when considering the town incorporated in order to stop the construction of high-rises. With the incorporation of the town in the 1990's, developments on the bay side of Estero Boulevard were limited to three stories without deviations approved by the town council. Fulcher said the development offered a limited public benefit.

"Everybody says that we need to think outside the box and we understand that. Things are going to change," Fulcher said. "That's too far out of the box."

Not everybody sees it the same way on Fort Myers Beach.

John Munger, who owns property in the town, said the project should be approved because it will improve property values. He compared the development to Ocean Harbor further south on Estero Boulevard. "This is going to be a tremendous wealth-generator for our community," he said. Munger referred to vacant homes and lots on the island and said the council's approval of Seagate's plans would return "confidence" to the island.

Fort Myers Beach resident Dawn Thomas spoke in favor of the development at the town council meeting last week. Thomas said Seagate Development Group has provided support to the Fort Myers Beach Woman's Club, an organization which Thomas is the president of. "The elephant in the room is the height of the building," Thomas said. "It's not intrusive." Thomas compared the project to DiamondHead Beach Resort, which is 12 stories high. "The island needs commercial and residential development," Thomas said.

The majority of the town council has supported the project. At a town council meeting that followed a public presentation by Seagate on their plans, Councilmember Karen Woodson admonished those who spoke out against it.

Councilmember John King voted to support the project. "I've heard the comparisons to 'We don't want it to be Miami.' I don't want it to be Mexico Beach either or Matlacha," he said.

There certainly are no shortage of projects being proposed in the town. In addition to Seagate's proposal, London Bay Development has proposed their own twin tower condo/hotel project just down the road. Moss Marina has proposed a multi-hotel project and the town council recently approved deviations from the town code to allow a hotel next to the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. Just outside the town limits, on San Carlos Island, a massive hotel and residential project known as Bay Harbour is waiting in the wings.

LPA rejects project

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency had rejected Seagate Development Group's plans one week before the town council approved them by a vote of 4-2.

Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda said the proposed development order was "inconsistent with the comprehensive plan" and for the proposed public benefit not compensating for the height request.

Cereceda said the town didn't get any reassurances from the development order agreement proposed by Seagate Development.

"There is no certainty to this plan," Cereceda said. Cereceda said the plans proposed by Seagate allowed for parameters for the developers on what they could build but gave no assurances to the town as to what may be built at the former Red Coconut RV Park.

Cereceda said she didn't support residential towers of 15 stories or even up to 17 stories high as proposed.

"I'm not OK with it. It bothers me a lot. Do I like the development concept? Yes," Cereceda said. "Do I think the Town of Fort Myers Beach should have 17 stories in it? No I don't."

Cereceda said town residents would react negatively to such height. "We should make decisions based on the policies we've agreed to uphold," she said.

Local Planning Agency member Doug Eckmann doesn't believe the developers have provided enough public benefit in exchange for the height deviation.

Cereceda said the developers were "pushing the envelope" at a time when residents are "mourning the loss of the town."

Seagate Development Group CEO Matt Price said the town council will still have a chance to decide on the project regardless of whether the Local Planning Agency approves it. In response to questions from Cereceda over whether the developers intend to stick to having a restaurant on the property, or if the development agreement will allow for a change in use, Price said he doesn't want to restrict himself to a restaurant in case the market shifts.

Seagate purchased the former Red Coconut property, which includes land on both sides of Estero Boulevard, for $52 million last year. Price said the developers spent seven months working with town staff on plans.

LPA member Jane Plummer said she was concerned about how close to Estero Boulevard and Donora Boulevard the development would be.

Price said the project was designed to limit traffic around the side streets.

Davidson said the approvals have been too quick for him. The Margaritaville Beach Resort, which he said he supports, went through a longer review process and faced lawsuits over getting one more story than was allowed by code (four stories), while Seagate is requesting 13 more stories than what is allowed by the town's local development code.

Mike Dagnese, an electrician who has lived on Fort Myers Beach for 41 years near where Seagate's condo towers will go, said the old Red Coconut RV Park were trailers that were 10 feet high at most. Dagnese said the proposed park would not benefit the town since there wouldn't be any parking for them. "They are just trying to sell you," Dagnese said during a Local Planning Agency public hearing on the proposal. "Why wouldn't you put these big buildings in the back?"

"I can see the sunset from house," Dagnese said. "Now I am going to look at a concrete building."

Dagnese said he has photos with his granddaughter in his backyard with "a beautiful sunset" behind them.

"It was a friendly beach," Dagnese said. "They knew when they bought it they can only build three stories."

At the town council meeting that followed a week later, Dagnese ripped into councilmembers before their vote to approve the first reading of the ordinance/developer agreement for the project.

"We have a height plan for a reason," Dagnese said. "They built DiamondHead, we (created) a height plan for that reason. If you are going to turn around and change it and let them get away with a 17-story building, we don't need you. You can go away and we can go back to Lee County."

Support for larger condo projects

Realtor Alex King, speaking during the public hearing on the Seagate development, said the recent hurricanes were transformational for the island and said there has been a need on the island for four-room homes that buyers are seeking. King said the 3,000 square-feet condos being proposed by Seagate would address that.

"I would venture to say we are going to see 40-60 percent of those folks in the ranch homes, split-level homes will be moving away," King said.

"Half our condos are not ready yet. The HOA fees are going through the roof," King said. "The average homeowners who came here and bought these ranch homes 20,30, 40 years ago and these condo owners 20,30,40 years ago – it's going to be harder for them to afford it." King said the new homebuyers will have more income.

King, who said he lost his cottage and ranch home to Hurricane Ian and fixed it back up, said the town needs to move forward. "I suggest start thinking forward, build toward the new people who are coming. We are going to need a lot more restaurants and larger condos," King said.

Did town council approve Seagate plans too quick?

Cereceda, who was on the town council that approved Margaritaville, said Seagate's review and placement on the town council agenda was quicker than normal for a project of that size.

"Things don't usually move that quickly," Cereceda said. "I don't have any explanation for it. Of course, this is a development agreement, and we haven't done one of these before, so maybe development agreements will move this quickly."

The town council, approved a change to its procedures earlier this year, to allow development agreements – which Allers supported.

"The primary difference between a Development Agreement and a CPD (Commercial Planned Development) is the process," Allers said. "A Development Agreement offers a developer a way to see if a project is feasible or not without spending a great deal of time and money on plans and engineering," he said. "If a project is approved through a Development Agreement it still needs to go through the process of getting a land development order and meeting all the requirements within an approved Development Agreement."

Allers ultimately voted against moving the Seagate plans to a second reading, though Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt, councilmembers John King, Scott Safford and Karen Woodson voted to move the ordinance forward.

Allers said he hoped that the developers will make changes between the first reading and the second reading.

That left Davidson wondering if an additional hearing would be necessary once the plans had changed. The plans were further changed during the first hearing on Oct. 28 after developers agreed to provide a water fountain and portable restroom accessible to the public at the request of Atterholt.

A second reading and hearing will be held Nov. 18.