Construction is set to begin on the $13 million Sunset Beach Resort, marking the first major redevelopment project on Fort Myers Beach’s Times Square district since Hurricane Ian.
In the Fort Myers Beach Times Square entertainment district, 1028 Estero Blvd. has long defined beach culture — once as the Top O’Mast Lounge and more recently as Sunset Beach Tropical Grill and The Playmore Tiki Bar.
Since the building at that site was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, leaving only the beach and a parking lot, it has come to represent the island’s widespread losses.
Now, longtime area developer Terry Persaud’s plan to build the new $13 million Sunset Beach Resort at the address signals a new direction for construction on the island, driven by updated building codes designed to better withstand storm surge and by investment in often larger, mixed-use developments.
“Like a lot of the new construction down here, it’s a different category than what was here in the past,” said new Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Will McKannay. “Hurricane Ian and the successive storms after that, they changed all the rules. And that’s been a challenge for people like Terry and other developers here in Times Square, but really anywhere here on this barrier island. But together we’ve been working through it.”
A rendering shows the planned Sunset Beach Resort, a mixed-use hotel and restaurant development proposed for 1028 Estero Blvd. on Fort Myers Beach.
Benchmark General Contractors
McKannay said updated building codes have forced developers to rethink both how they build and how they make projects financially viable. While he acknowledged some residents are concerned that redevelopment will change the look of Fort Myers Beach, he said the new construction still closely reflects the character of what was there before.
Fort Myers Beach officials, Benchmark General Contractors and other stakeholders on July 6 celebrated the official groundbreaking for the new resort, a three-story, 41,285-square-foot project. It is expected to include at least six hotel rooms, a restaurant, rooftop bar, pool and other amenities.
Construction is set to begin in earnest over the next few weeks, according to Benchmark. Company representatives estimate the project will be completed in 11 to 18 months.
Marking the first major Times Square rebuild since Ian, Sunset Beach Resort is among a slate of ongoing projects redefining Estero Island.
Developer Terry Persaud speaks during the July 6 groundbreaking ceremony for the $13 million Sunset Beach Resort at 1028 Estero Blvd. on Fort Myers Beach.
Evan Williams
Next to 1028 Estero Blvd., the Fort Myers Beach fishing pier is expected to begin reconstruction soon after the Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit. That news was announced June 30 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Big Carlos Pass Bridge, which replaced the old drawbridge at the south end of the island.
“We want stuff that’s going to last, that’s going to survive,” said Jacki Liszak, president and CEO of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce. “And with the pier being approved now, [and] this coming along on Times Square, the next year is going to be so exciting on this strip of beach right here.”
Elsewhere on and around Times Square, new developments are in the pipeline.
A rendering depicts another view of the planned Sunset Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach’s Times Square district.
Benchmark General Contractors
Construction began last month on Access 26 Family Food Truck Park at 2500 Estero Blvd., which is set to include five food trucks and a two-story building housing Manny’s Scoops ice cream, a bar, retail space and other amenities.
Fort Myers Beach Town Council in December 2025 approved a new three-story building at 50 Old San Carlos Blvd., about 100 feet from the pier where Kilwin’s chocolate and ice cream shop once stood. Plans call for an open-air ground floor with a Meli’s Ice Cream vending truck and a residential apartment spanning the second and third floors.
Project leaders and elected officials participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Sunset Beach Resort on July 6 on Fort Myers Beach.
Evan Williams
Persaud called the groundbreaking a bittersweet occasion. He recalled the devastation caused by Ian and the struggle to rebuild as developers, officials and residents sometimes clashed over how new construction might change the character of Fort Myers Beach. Persaud initially wanted to build higher with additional hotel rooms but reduced the project’s scope to comply with existing building codes.
“We’ve been working on this for the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s been challenging but of course at the end of every challenge there’s a reward, right? And this is our reward.”
Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Will McKannay speaks during the July 6 groundbreaking ceremony for the Sunset Beach Resort.
Evan Williams
The groundbreaking ceremony was a distinctly Fort Myers Beach-style celebration, with afternoon storm clouds looming on the horizon, beachgoers lingering by the old fishing pier and Mayor Dan Allers recalling decades past at 1028 Estero.
“I probably had one too many Rum Runners back in the day when it was the Top O’ Mast,” he said during his remarks, “and you may or may not get to see some of my world-famous dance moves on the wooden deck in the back before I did fall off once. But that’s long, long before I was on Council.”