Proposed $50M project would bring apartments, businesses to Bimini Basin in Cape Coral

Reporter: Taylor Petras Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Bimini Basin in Cape Coral. Credit: WINK News.

A project that has been years in the making is moving closer to a reality.

A proposed Bimini Basin project would bring apartments, stores, a parking garage and a waterfront restaurant to Cape Coral. It still needs financing and development approval by the city.

The community redevelopment agency signed off on the letter of intent Tuesday.

The lot under potential development has sat empty for years, and while some people are excited to see it turn into something, others are skeptical.

Bimini Basin brings boaters and fishers from all over the country.

“It’s a great place to be,” Alan Waterman said. “We love it here.”

“We really like. It’s really nice,” said Kenny Back, visiting from Indiana. “It’s a little busier than I expected, which is a good thing. Right?”

The basin could get busier with a proposed $50 million development. A North Dakota developer is proposing 185 apartments, a parking garage, retail space and waterfront restaurant. A dock and boat slips are also part of the design.

“I think it would help it a lot because it’s an older area, and it needs a newer atmosphere,” said Kevin Hodges, visiting from Indiana.

“I think it would be great to expand for sure, and it’s already the area,” Back said. “Like I said, it’s already pretty well developed. It’s not like you’re developing a wildlife area.”

Construction is expected to bring in more than 500 jobs.

“Anything that gives people jobs or anything like that, I think it’s a plus for the community,” Hodges said. “That’s been an empty lot for a long time, so it’s only going to help commerce.”

But people who live next to the empty lot are unsure of the type of living space.

“One hundred-eighty apartments is not what I think anybody in this area is really going to want,” Waterman said. “This is a condo area. People own their places.”

If everything is approved by the city, the tentative timeline to break would be late spring 2022.

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