PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The difference in construction progress on the Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor isn't apparent each day or each month but it's clear.
Our SkyFox drone video, side-by-side, from January 2023 to June 2023 reveals a project that finally looks like a resort that is about to open.
The resort's website guides a user to room reservations that start in mid-October for nearly 800 rooms, a golf club, and two pools. The objective of a resort is to offer the full experience, on-site, for anything that a guest might want.
However, the imminent opening of the Sunseeker is also a major opportunity less than two miles away, in downtown Punta Gorda.
Just think of the most well-known names in Punta Gorda, from Hurricane Charley's to Carmelo's to Shorty's, Leroy's, and The Perfect Caper. Add in other retail, such as gift shops, for the thousands of future resort guests who will drive from the Punta Gorda Airport to the Sunseeker.
A route that will take most people through downtown Punta Gorda.
"All the vast majority (of businesses), certainly, see this as a benefit for Punta Gorda and its environment," said John Wright, president of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce. "This is a huge development, coming into town. We have the opportunities, we have the restaurants, we have the retail. We’ve been through two major hurricanes, COVID, this is an opportunity we need to take by the neck and make it work and I think a lot of people will be visiting Punta Gorda."
While the Sunseeker will have the room for a convention or wedding/celebration space, downtown Punta Gorda has plenty of room, including an undeveloped lot east of Taylor Street, across from the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center.
"Right now, the city of Punta Gorda is heavily involved in looking at the downtown lot that’s still open since Hurricane Charley in 2004," said Wright. "Hopefully, if we can attract, through Sunseekers’ arrival, new development there, that will give us a new downtown core that everyone will benefit from, residents, visitors, and new businesses alike."
Wright also noted that, when the Sunseeker does open, watch for extra traffic and, perhaps, "a little bit" of an extra wait at restaurants during the winter season.
While thousands of drivers on Tamiami Trail each day may not notice the progress of the resort, each day brings a new signature of the Charlotte Harbor a little closer to reality, one construction shift at a time. A project that could lead to progress across the Peace River.
