High rise proposal on Fort Myers Beach sparking mixed reactions

Fort Myers Beach is on the way up with businesses returning bigger and better after Hurricane Ian.

Now, one developer is taking the concept of bigger-better to new heights.

London Bay is holding sessions to get public input and ensure they know neighbors’ wants as they make plans.

A good 70 or so people came to Wednesday’s meeting with questions. Everything presented on Wednesday was just a vision proposal.

It was a special place on Fort Myers Beach.

“We used to love going there all the time,” said Jackie Stading, who lives across the London Bay FMB development.

Outrigger’s Beach Resort is just a stone’s throw from Stading’s home.

“Whenever people came to visit, we would take them down there, have maybe a drink, watch the sunset, maybe lunch,” Stading said.

The two-story resort was one of her grandkids’ favorite parts of visiting her and the island, but Ian did a number on this property and Charley’s Boathouse Grill across the street.

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“I just kept hoping they’d build back up, but then when it sold, I knew it wasn’t,” Stading said.

Outrigger and Charley’s were demolished. The 10 acres were swooped up by the local developer, London Bay, for a whopping $38.2 million.

“Probably is worth it, but really, what they want to do and what I’ve been reading what they want to do isn’t at all what I think we would like. I think this end of the beach has always been known as more of the quieter end,” Stading said.

Neighbors living around the ready-to-develop lot echo the push and pull we’ve heard since Ian.

They are wondering how they can balance recovery and rebuilding while holding true to the small-town charm of Fort Myers Beach.

“I think it’ll enhance the beach, whatever they put there from the plans we’ve heard,” said Kay Kindrick, who lives across from London Bay.

At Wednesday’s meeting, London Bay founder Mark Wilson presented their vision of a boutique old-Florida lifestyle hotel. Meetings like these are part of their commitment to building with the community’s wants.

Right now, they’re focused on the beachside. Their proposed plan is 96 rooms between a hotel and condos.

The hotel could go as high as nine floors with a rooftop lounge, and the condo could go up to 15 floors.

For the public, beach accessibility isn’t going anywhere.

On top of that, there will be restrooms, showers, bike and golf cart parking, beach games, a bar and food trucks.

That height requirement is not approved, just proposed.

One of the questions at the meeting was, “What’s your plan for where Charley’s sat on the other side of the road?”

They said that right now, they don’t know. They are focused on the beach side now.