explorefortmyers.com<\/a>) and social media platforms reach more than 1 million visitors a year.\n<\/p>\nWith a common goal in mind, downtown merchants, residents and property owners work together to strengthen the area community, promote historic preservation, stimulate local business and produce special events that attract residents and visitors alike.\n<\/p>\n
Of course, downtown\u2019s transformation didn\u2019t happen overnight. Decades in the making, it\u2019s the result of a clear vision, perseverance and steady investment. Combined with strong partnerships, these efforts have shaped today\u2019s downtown Fort Myers into a destination that\u2019s welcoming, thriving and still moving forward.\n<\/p>\n
But these efforts alone don\u2019t create a vibrant downtown. People do. And that\u2019s where RDA has helped propel the city\u2019s downtown renaissance. Our partnership is one in which the City provides financial support and essential services that make special events possible by sustaining RDA\u2019s action plans.\n<\/p>\n
Together, we focus on results: Each year, RDA produces 27 events downtown, including monthly Art Walks and Music Walks, along with major community festivities like the New Year\u2019s Eve celebration, Fourth of July and the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Block Party. Combined, these events draw hundreds of thousands of people to downtown annually.\n<\/p>\n
Such turnouts support restaurants, shops, galleries and venues well beyond a single visit. Whether it\u2019s inviting people downtown for the many RDA events, or attracting patrons to a performance at the Florida Repertory Theatre or the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, the economic benefits ripple outward. When someone comes downtown and has a wonderful experience, they come back for lunch, bring friends to dinner or return to shop\u2014a steady pulse that strengthens the local economy.\n<\/p>\n
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Mayor Kevin Anderson. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
City support means downtown events are free and accessible to everyone. Families, seniors, residents and visitors all share the same historic streets to listen to music, explore the local arts and culinary scene and enjoy downtown together.\n<\/p>\n
Our shared vision with RDA also helps preserve what makes downtown special\u2014growth doesn\u2019t have to come at the expense of character. Landmark buildings, cultural institutions and locally owned businesses give our historic downtown a unique sense of place.\n<\/p>\n
As we wrap up 2025, I hope you\u2019ll help ring in the new year at our New Year\u2019s Eve celebration, downtown at the corner of First and Hendry streets. We\u2019ll have multiple live music performances and much more. And you won\u2019t want to miss the annual ball drop and fireworks at midnight!\n<\/p>\n
Surrounded by residents and visitors all sharing the same celebration is one of my favorite reminders of how far downtown has come. And our downtown renaissance is just getting started. Together with partners such as RDA, we\u2019re building a future worthy of our continued investment, and I\u2019m excited about extending our momentum into 2026. This includes the launch of a vibrant Culinary District and other planned major redevelopment projects that will further establish downtown as a signature destination.\n<\/p>\n
Having seen downtown\u2019s evolution from both sides of this multi-decade journey, I\u2019m humbled by how far we\u2019ve come and confident in where we\u2019re headed. On behalf of the City of Fort Myers\u2019 team members who serve our residents and visitors throughout the year, I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2026. See you downtown for the New Year\u2019s Eve celebration!\n<\/p>\n
\u2014 Kevin Anderson is mayor of the City of Fort Myers\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Downtown NYE Celebration. -COURTESY PHOTO Over the past four decades, I\u2019ve had a front-row seat to the City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":{"0":"post-101770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cape-coral","8":"tag-cape-coral","9":"tag-cape-coral-headlines","10":"tag-cape-coral-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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