A new development group is seeking financing to complete The Irving, a 12-story, 98-unit rental apartment building planned at the corner of Bay Street and Lee Street in downtown Fort Myers.
At its Feb. 2 meeting, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency approved a change in project leadership, reassigning the development agreement from former owner 2401 Bay Street LLC to 2401 Bay Street Development LLC.
The former LLC was owned by Rebekah Barney. The new entity is owned by principals of Miami-based Florida Value Partners, which is partnering with construction developer JAXI Inc. and project operator Mainsail Lodging LLC. A CRA staff report states the firms bring experience in large-scale mixed-use and hospitality projects, including developments in downtown Fort Myers.
Vivas Palm Park, adjacent to the planned Irving development, is slated for improvements under the project’s CRA-approved incentive agreement, according to city officials.
Evan Williams
An attorney for the new development group said the ownership change is necessary to secure financing for the long-stalled project. The CRA first approved a smaller version of The Irving in December 2021 and approved the current version in July 2024, including a $10.5 million incentive through an Increment Revenue Payment Agreement.
That agreement also includes improvements to the adjacent Vivas Palm Park, named for a pioneering Fort Myers family that once owned the property and later gifted it to the city. The site has been vacant since at least 1957, said Megan W. Strayhorn, attorney for Bay Street Development.
The former Royal Palm Towers property next to the Irving site is being redeveloped by members of the same development team now seeking to complete The Irving project.
Evan Williams
In a presentation to the CRA, Strayhorn said the new development team plans to keep all terms of the 2024 agreement intact. Florida Value Partners, JAXI and Mainsail are also redeveloping the former Royal Palm Towers next door. JAXI is known locally for ONE, a luxury high-rise under development, while Mainsail’s projects include the downtown Luminary Hotel.
Barney plans to remain involved in the project to see “the original vision come to fruition,” Strayhorn said.
The Irving is planned as an eco- and pet-friendly luxury rental community with one- and two-bedroom apartments, a swimming pool, pet spa, parking, green space and other amenities.
Based on 2022 estimates, the project would increase the property’s value from $943,000 to $56 million.
“It would dramatically increase the taxable value of the property and very likely the surrounding properties,” Strayhorn said.
Architectural renderings presented to the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency show The Irving, a proposed 12-story, 98-unit luxury rental apartment building planned at Bay Street and Lee Street downtown.
Fort Myers government
Before construction can begin, the developers must complete a separate project to underground power lines serving the site, a JAXI representative said, a process expected to take about six months. Financing also remains to be finalized.
The CRA Board, made up of Fort Myers City Council members, voted 4-3 to transfer the development agreement, with commissioners Diana Giraldo, Darla Bonk and Teresa Watkins Brown dissenting.
CRA attorney Corris McIntosh cautioned the board that the existing development agreement may violate state statute 163.387 because it does not list “luxury towers” among permissible uses of CRA redevelopment trust funds.
The vacant parcel at 2401 Bay St. in downtown Fort Myers is planned for The Irving, a 12-story rental apartment project that has remained undeveloped for decades.
Evan Williams
“If we were to enter into this agreement today, I wouldn’t approve it, nor would Mr. [CRA attorney Clifford Shepard] approve it as a permissible purpose,” McIntosh said, warning the issue could surface during a financial audit.
Strayhorn countered that the statute allows CRA funds to support hotels that serve convention centers. She said the Irving’s developers plan to dedicate a portion of the units to short-term rentals to support the nearby Caloosa Sound Convention Center.
“That’s where we would argue there is permissible use,” she said.