Fort Myers talks about proposed parking lot in Dean Park

Residents are trying to stop the warehouse in the Dean Park Historic District from becoming a parking lot for the city’s truck fleet.

The city of Fort Myers said that this is an opportunity for them to consolidate departments by having them in one location and provide parking for city trucks. Neighbors had questions, that’s why the city wanted to meet with them Wednesday night.

Joni Mitchell once sang, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” It’s a catchy song but those lyrics aren’t resonating with the Dean Park community.

Bob Andrews is a resident of the historic district.

“Try to do everything we can to push back and tell them we don’t want that,” said Andrews.

Elgin Hicks is the Director of Parks and Recreation for Fort Myers.

“We have been looking for an opportunity to bring the entire Parks and Rec department under one house. When the city manager found this location, it was not only an opportunity to bring the Parks and Rec department into one house but also to save money by bringing the clerk’s office into one of the buildings as well,” said Hicks.

Hicks wants the process to run smoothly.

“We understand Dean Park is a historic location and we don’t do maintenance,” said Hicks. “You’re not going to hear saws and all this heavy equipment going on there all day.”

Neighbors were concerned about the safety of their children playing near where city vehicles would be driving.

“I have a family. I have kids, so I wouldn’t want that to be in my neighborhood,” said Hicks. “But I think what we discussed was being able to have the parking so that our staff has to get there.”

Hicks wants the residents to be informed of their process.

“We understand and know how important the Dean Park community is to us, so we want to just be transparent as possible and tell them what was going there,” said Hicks.

The city of Fort Myers will be regrouping internally on the next steps. This is conceptual and they need to work through the final designs. There’s no timing yet on any final decisions.