City of Fort Myers nixes Bruno’s of Brooklyn at old firehouse building

A taxpayer-funded project will be shelved in Southwest Florida, which means a property worth millions of dollars will continue to gather dust.

The former News-Press building in downtown Fort Myers has been on the market for months. The city owns it and wants to sell.

The city hoped to sell this 170,000-square-foot site this summer but it still hasn’t gotten the offers it expected.

The city did get one offer on a smaller building, an old fire station on the corner of the lot, but on Monday night, the City of Fort Myers voted against parceling out the project. Instead, they will wait for a buyer who can take the whole thing and use it to benefit the city.

By a 5-2 vote, Fort Myers City Council decided against negotiating with the owners of Brunos of Brooklyn, a downtown Italian restaurant.

Bruno’s hoped to buy the old fire station located next to the old Fort Myers News-Press site.

Mayor Kevin Anderson is not happy with another delay in what is supposed to be a crucial project.

“We have basically seen no activity in Midtown so it concerns me that it’s gonna be that much longer before we see activity,” Anderson said.

Anderson voted in favor of Bruno’s project.

He believes once that first domino falls, no matter the size, Midtown renovation will speed up quickly.

“I’d like to think that once we start to see activity, more will come,” Anderson said.

The vote continues a long saga for the News-Press site.

Originally bought by the city for $9 million back in 2019. The site was supposed to become the new Fort Myers Police Department headquarters, until projected costs soared well over budget.

Now, the city thinks finding a new location for FMPD and selling this property is the smart money play.

“I think we stand to probably sell it at almost double,” Anderson said.

But after the latest vote, council’s made it clear it won’t parcel it off in bits and pieces.

“I think it’s very important that we put the right project on that property. And it’s done in such a manner that it sets the standard for the rest of Midtown,” Anderson said.

Fort Myers officials say the city is hosting a global realtor group this December.

They believe a big-picture Midtown plan will take shape during that time.