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Businesses, residents unhappy with plans for Morse Plaza redevelopment

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LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A shopping plaza that makes a first impression as a gateway to the Fort Myers area is going to change, and some claim, not for the better.

The Morse Shores Plaza is located at Palm Beach Boulevard, just west of I-75.

Tenants tell WINK News a new owner is advising them that they must be out of the east end of the center by next January.

Owners have been told part of the plaza will be gutted and turned into storage units.

“There are a lot of storage places around here. It wouldn’t make sense to me for them to do that in a commercial area like this,” said Tara Prizzi, an employee at the plaza.

Clearing out for storage units worries businesses who fear a change of address could mean loss of customers.

“I think there is a better use for the area. I think that if they were to straighten up the area, they would get some more customers,” said Brian Lariviere with Great Florida Insurance.

Morse Shores used to have a public, but that went out a few years ago. So did a Perkins Restaurant and a Pizza Hut.

People who live nearby, and shop at the plaza are not pleased.

“It’s sad, it’s disappointing to see that the entire plaza is not growing, as it used to,” said resident Verna Saxer-Gibson.

Some businesses have been told they may be able to move to the west end of the plaza, but details have not been worked out.

WINK News called Lancaster Realty in Bradenton several times asking for comment, but we never got a call back.

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