A rendering shows the proposed six-story Silver Sands Resort planned for 1207 Estero Blvd. in downtown Fort Myers Beach. Town Council will consider rezoning and development approvals for the project during public hearings Aug. 3.
Fort Myers Beach government
Fort Myers Beach officials are considering two proposals to rebuild legacy hospitality and lodging properties destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022 — one on the north end and another on the south end of Estero Island.
Town Council is set to hold back-to-back public hearings on the proposals during its regular meeting at 9 a.m. Aug. 3.
The first proposal would bring a bar, restaurant and family entertainment venue — but no new hotel rooms — to the former Wyndham hotel property in the Santini Marina area on the south end.
The second hearing concerns a proposal to redevelop the Silver Sands Resort in the downtown district near Times Square. The project aligns with the taller, denser post-Ian developments along Estero Boulevard.
The hearings are the first of potentially two for each project. If Council approves the proposals Monday, they would move to a second and final hearing for adoption Sept. 9 or on another date approved by Council.
Estero Island South: Wyndham
The 1969 building that housed a Holiday Inn and later a Wyndham hotel at 6890 Estero Blvd. was irreparably damaged by Ian and later demolished.
The property owners, the Naples-based Pohlmann family trust under FMBH LLC, are asking the town to approve a home rule development agreement allowing them to carry out a two-phase plan.
The first phase includes an open-air tiki bar, temporary mobile food vendors, live entertainment and a beach recreation area, according to meeting agenda documents. The second phase includes a wave dissipation wall and a pool with a lazy river feature.
Both phases include additional parking. The plan seeks seven deviations from the development code, including allowing a gravel or crushed-shell parking lot instead of a paved lot, reducing buffer requirements to add parking spaces and allowing the lot to serve Fort Myers Beach businesses located more than 750 feet away.
The property owners have said rebuilding a hotel or resort is the “highest and best use” of the property, which is in a Commercial Resort zoning district, but they believe doing so is not financially viable under current economic conditions. The more than 11-acre property includes nearly four developable acres.
The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency voted 6-1 in June to recommend approval of FMBH LLC’s plan. But some residents have voiced opposition, arguing that several features — including parking deviations, noise concerns and the lack of hotel rooms — conflict with the town’s comprehensive plan and zoning rules.
“The current plan is not built for Fort Myers Beach residents and owners,” Larry Gulleen of Sand Caper Condominium Association Inc. wrote. “It is significantly built for hundreds of outsiders who will come to our community for the benefit of one owner.”
Gulleen said he supports the restaurant and bar facilities, beach access for residents and access for town and emergency vehicles.
A rendering shows another view of the proposed Silver Sands Resort in downtown Fort Myers Beach. The Local Planning Agency has recommended approval of the project, which now heads to the Town Council for public hearings.
Fort Myers Beach government
Estero Island North: Silver Sands
The site of the former Silver Sands cottages at 1207 Estero Blvd. sits next to Margaritaville Beach Resort, which opened in 2023.
Minnesota-based Margaritaville developer TPI Hospitality, through affiliate TPI-FMB Suites LLC, plans to build the six-story, 60-unit Silver Sands Resort hotel on the three-quarter-acre property.
That represents a 173% increase in density from the previous 22-room property built in 1921 and roughly doubles the 30-foot height limit allowed under current rules. But a town staff report concludes the proposal is compatible with other recently approved developments in the area, including Margaritaville, Lighthouse Resort and Arches Bayfront Hotel.
The proposal requires the Town Council to rezone the property from its Downtown designation to Commercial Planned Development to accommodate the new resort. In addition to the boutique-style hotel, the proposal includes 2,500 square feet of retail space, 46 ground-level parking spaces, a rooftop pool, streetscape improvements and guest access to Margaritaville.
The Local Planning Agency unanimously recommended approval of the project in June, including its 11 requested deviations from the development code. Those requests include increasing the height limit from 30 feet above base flood elevation, or three stories, to allow a six-story structure, and reducing parking requirements by 21%, or 12 spaces.