Dunbar’s Southward Village set for affordable housing transformation

Reporter: Zoe Warner
Published: Updated:

Southward Village is set to become a new hub for affordable housing as companies prepare to build on the now-empty site.

The transformation is part of a community effort to provide better and cleaner housing in the heart of Dunbar.

“The community has screamed for more and better and cleaner, and that’s exactly what we’re going to get. And it sits in the heart of our community,” said John Tobler, CEO of Tobler Construction, the first Black-owned construction company in Lee County.

Tobler, born and raised in the area, aims to spark more development in the area where he grew up. He expressed excitement about the improvements, saying, “It’s just raised to another level.”

“Being one who was reared right in the projects, the housing authority, and to come back and be a part of building structures that families can have, units that have air condition that back then we had no air condition, places where there were cabinets, real cabinets, as opposed to just, you know, tables that we sat on. It is pretty amazing where we’ve come from,” said Tobler.

In partnership with Suffolk Construction Company, Tobler is working to make this vision a reality.

The COO of Suffolk, Ben Wilson, noted the project’s long journey, saying, “It’s been a long road to get to this point where just earlier in 2024 we broke ground, we demolished the existing housing that was here on this site to get ready for the construction that’s going to start later in 2025.”

Both companies are committed to involving the Dunbar community in the construction process.

“We’ll create opportunities for both individuals that live, you know, within walking distance or within a short ride away from the job site to actually work on the project,” said Wilson.

Tobler hopes this project will inspire others, particularly the youth in the community.

“The biggest takeaway for me is the kids, the younger men and women who look exactly like me, to see me a part of a job like this. It says to them, Oh, absolutely, I can do it as well,” he said.

While the timeline for completion is uncertain, the goal is to finish in the next few years.

Copyright ©2025 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.