FORT MYERS, Fla. — Because of Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's connections in the community, she got an exclusive look at the site plans for the News Press site, which revealed ambitious plans for a transformative mixed-use development in Fort Myers' Midtown district.
Take a look at this bird's-eye view of what Bonora said is coming to Midtown:
The exclusive site plans, provided directly to our newsroom by developer Joe Bonora, show a comprehensive development featuring 376 multifamily units across more than 475,000 gross square feet, complemented by extensive amenities and commercial space totaling 25,045 gross square feet.
According to the plans, the project will include office and higher education facilities spanning 228,113 gross square feet across two buildings, a hotel with approximately 152 units, and 46,487 gross square feet of retail space featuring a neighborhood grocer.
The plans also highlight designated pedestrian zones throughout the development, strategically located adjacent to the new Fort Myers Police Department headquarters.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson and developer Joe Bonora of Catalyst Community Development are working through complex challenges involving multiple agencies as they push toward a year-end closing on the property transfer.
"We're talking about setting a standard very high for the rest of Midtown, because this is very important that we develop Midtown properly," Anderson said. "We have the opportunity to establish a very solid tax base which will help provide for the long term sustainability of our city."
According to Anderson, the city currently owns the News Press site and is assisting with grant applications to help clean up environmental contamination before transferring the land to Bonora's development team.
Multiple agencies create development hurdles
Bonora outlined several unexpected challenges that have emerged during the due diligence process, including environmental contamination beyond asbestos, active railroad tracks running through the property, and Florida Power & Light easement issues.
"Every time something comes up, you have to deal with the issue, put your plans on hold, work through the issue, pick back up on the plans, revise the plans as necessary based on what you found out," Bonora said.
According to Bonora, the developer discovered that moving an FPL anchor supporting transmission lines could cost more than $600,000. The project also requires coordination with the Florida Department of Transportation for shared access points with the new police station.
"There's a lot of agencies involved beyond just the city. So there's state, there's federal in every part of this process," Bonora said. "Sometimes you're just at the mercy of agencies that don't move as fast as private development would like to move."
Community concerns about selective city support
Some locals have questioned when the city chooses to support private developments, pointing to projects like McCollum Hall and City of Palms Park as examples of inconsistent municipal backing.
Anderson defended the city's approach, explaining that the News Press project involves city-owned land that must be cleaned up before transfer.
"While this is a private development, that development will not happen until the land is transferred," Anderson said. "We currently own the land, and in helping to facilitate the transfer of the land, we're assisting with the grant."
According to Anderson, the housing will be market rate, but Bonora has committed to reserving a percentage for essential workers and workforce housing.
"If we stop allowing the construction of luxury or market rate projects, we're not going to have that tax base that creates the funding to help fund the affordable housing projects," Anderson said. "It's a balance."
Next steps target aggressive timeline
According to Bonora, the next six months will focus on rezoning the property through a planned unit development process, infrastructure planning, and improvement financing. Bonora's team will simultaneously work with the Community Redevelopment Agency on road construction and securing major commercial tenants.
"The next six months will be zoning, infrastructure and kind of improvement financing, getting all that set up," Bonora said.
Bonora expects to close on the property by the end of 2026, with potential site preparation beginning earlier if EPA grant funding comes through for demolition and cleanup.
"Nobody wants this to happen more than us," Bonora said. "I think if we felt at this point that it wasn't going to happen, we wouldn't continue moving forward."
Anderson sees the project as a catalyst for broader Midtown development, potentially spurring additional projects along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and connecting downtown Fort Myers to interstate development.
"When this project happens, you're going to see something good happen across the street as well," Anderson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
