Development continued to surge in the village of Estero in 2025, with an estimated $422.1 million in residential and commercial building permits issued during the year. That marked the second-highest annual total since Estero incorporated in 2014, trailing only the $598.3 million recorded in 2024.
Estero entered 2026 with nearly 20 active building projects, representing about 2,500 residential units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space, according to a Jan. 21 Village Council workshop presentation by Community Development Director Mary Gibbs.
Gibbs provided an overview of projects under construction or proposed, while also highlighting several developments that have stalled.
A rendering shows the proposed four-story, 111-room Home2 Suites hotel planned at Coconut Point Mall in Estero, on a 2.37-acre site between the cinema and Via Coconut Point. The project currently appears stalled.
Estero government
A planned 111-room Home2 Suites hotel at Coconut Point Mall appears to have been abandoned because of the village’s requirement that the structure be built with concrete block rather than wood framing, Gibbs said. She added that the current developer or another company could still revive the project.
Plans for a 115-room Hilton Garden Inn on Sweetwater Ranch Boulevard have also stalled since Estero’s Planning, Zoning and Design Board approved a development order in 2023. Gibbs said the building permit for that project has expired.
“I don’t see this as going forward,” she said.
A rendering shows the proposed 122-room Coconut Trace Hotel, approved in September and planned across from Coconut Point Mall on Lyden Drive in Estero.
Estero government
Other hotel projects, however, are advancing. A 122-room Coconut Trace Hotel across from Coconut Point Mall on Lyden Drive received development order approval in September, Gibbs said.
Numerous residential and mixed-use projects are also in various phases of construction. Among them is RiverCreek, a 400-acre development with 554 single-family homes on East Corkscrew Road.
“I think there are only about 17 homes that are left to be constructed and permitted here, so it’s almost complete now,” Gibbs told council members.
In December, crews broke ground on Lumio Estero, a 20-acre development featuring 330 luxury units on Via Coconut Point.
Woodfield, a 46-acre mixed-use development adjacent to Coconut Point Mall at U.S. 41 and Coconut Road, is under construction. The project includes 596 residential units, along with office, retail, dining and hotel space.
Construction is underway at the Downtown Estero mixed-use development at U.S. 41 and Broadway Avenue, which will include 310 residential units and commercial space.
Estero government
Downtown Estero, a 310-unit residential development at U.S. 41 and Broadway Avenue, is also under construction.
“I hope the developer will come up with a catchier name for the community,” Gibbs said.
Vertical construction is underway on The Island at West Bay Club, a 23-story high-rise with 88 units off U.S. 41 and Williams Road. Workers had reached the fifth floor by mid-January.
The 154-unit Coconut Pointe Residences multifamily development at Brooks Town Center, at the corner of Coconut Road and Three Oaks Parkway, is under construction.
A Toll Brothers development, Summercrest, featuring 154 townhomes at the corner of Corkscrew Road and Sandy Lane, could begin construction later this year. Gibbs said the developer has not yet provided a timeline for groundbreaking.
Vertical construction is underway on The Island at West Bay Club, a 23-story waterfront condominium tower with 88 units off U.S. 41 and Williams Road in Estero.
Estero government
In the commercial sector, Estero approved a development order in December for a new Chick-fil-A with dual drive-thru lanes at Corkscrew Road and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, on the former site of a Perkins Restaurant. Village staff and the Planning, Zoning and Design Board must still approve final design elements before construction begins. The restaurant is expected to open in 2027.
The 40,000-square-foot High 5 recreation center in Estero’s 100-acre Entertainment District off Williams Road is under construction and scheduled to open in September. The facility will include pickleball, mini golf, bowling, arcade games, axe throwing, laser tag and other attractions.
An Aldi grocery store at Corkscrew Road and Stoneybrook Golf Drive is under construction, and Pruitt Professional Suites, a redevelopment of a former post office building on East Broadway, is nearing completion.
Estero building permits and estimated construction value
2025: 5,366 permits, $422.1 million
2024: 5,799 permits, $598.3 million
2023: 5,826 permits, $328.6 million
2022: 4,700 permits, $242.8 million
2021: 5,657 permits, $160.7 million
2020: 5,666 permits, $182.7 million