FMB Town Council approves luxury condos at Red Coconut RV park

The former Red Coconut RV park will soon become luxury condos on Fort Myers Beach.

Fort Myers Beach Town Council approved development plans on Monday to turn the RV park into 137 luxury condos with beachfront views.

Condos are not the only new development coming to this property.

Seagate Development, the company that purchased the 10 acres of land for $52 million, is also adding a pedestrian walkover above Estero Boulevard, a beach club, a restaurant, three parks and a public restroom.

Seagate has had several hearings in front of the town council to hear councilmembers and the public’s opinions on the project.

Seagate’s land use planner, Tina Ekblad, told the council Monday that they’ve worked to fix everyone’s concerns.

“I personally feel that this team has gone above and beyond to hear and make adjustments so that, really, we’re down to one issue in front of this town council,” Ekblad said.

The issue plaguing the development has been height.

The condo buildings would be between 15 and 17 stories high.

People who live on Fort Myers Beach are worried the island will become the next Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

“More height is going to be necessary, but there’s a huge difference between three stories above and fifteen stories above,” said Dan Riddle, a Fort Myers Beach resident.

“Maybe they just need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan,” another resident said.

“Deny this development as currently presented,” Greg, another Fort Myers Beach resident, said. “It’s the right decision for the island and the future of our community.”

After hearing the public comment, Mayor Dan Allers asked Seagate Development CEO Matt Price if he would voluntarily table the project and take another look at it.

Price responded to the mayor, saying, “Not at this time.”

The town council discussed the Seagate project extensively, but it ultimately voted 3-2 in favor of it.

Price said he is open to more feedback on the project.

“Things can change,” he said. “This is not a final, turn-it-over project. This is just to create the box that we’re designing into. Things can change going forward, and I look forward to getting any public input.”

Along with the condos, Seagate also plans to build four single-family units with the option to add four more if needed.

Seagate now has to get the proper permits in place.

They expect the approval, permitting and design process to run at least a year with three years of construction.