{"id":16858,"date":"2025-10-23T07:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T07:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/16858\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T07:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T07:33:07","slug":"cape-coral-approves-money-for-new-hotel-that-could-help-with-hurricane-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/16858\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Coral approves money for new hotel that could help with hurricane response"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAPE CORAL, Fla. \u2014 City Council approved $2.5 million in incentives Wednesday for a hotel project that could help solve a growing challenge: housing 800 city workers who are deployed during hurricanes. <\/p>\n

WATCH: City Council discussion of hotel incentives gets testy: <\/p>\n

Cape Coral approves money for new hotel that could house city workers during a hurricane<\/p>\n

In a 5-2 vote, Council approved the incentives for a five-story Marriott TownePlace Suites near Pine Island Road and Del Prado Boulevard. <\/p>\n

Milwaukee-based Continental Properties Company plans to build the 112-room hotel at 1475 NE. Eighth Terrace. Louisville-based Schulte Hospitality Group will manage the project, according to a city presentation. <\/p>\n

The incentives include a $176,000 impact fee credit and $770,000 site improvement grant, according to council documents. <\/a>As part of the deal, Cape Coral could reserve two floors of the hotel during emergencies like a hurricane. <\/p>\n

As the city grows, it struggles to house the 800 employees Cape Coral requires to work during hurricanes, Emergency Management Director Ryan Lamb told FOX 4. <\/p>\n

“It is a kind of no room in the inn situation because we have so many folks that need to be here,” Lamb said. “And again, it’s not an option that they’re here.” <\/p>\n

Employees are housed in Cape Coral fire stations, City Hall, and Police headquarters during a storm, Lamb said. Staff sleep on bunk bed cots and have limited restroom and shower space, Lamb said. <\/p>\n

The hotel could house firefighters, building inspectors, water plant operators, and police officers, Lamb said. That includes staff who work both during and after a hurricane. <\/p>\n

Cape Coral currently only has one hotel outside a flood hazard area, Lamb said, and the hotel doesn’t have a backup generator.<\/p>\n

The new hotel would be located outside a flood hazard area. Cape Coral would pay the hotel $350,000 for a generator and backup system. <\/p>\n

During the meeting, District 2 Council member Laurie Lehmann asked who would be responsible for maintaining the generator. <\/p>\n

Lamb said the city would pay for it during emergency use – otherwise it would be the hotel’s responsibility. District 5 Council Member Keith Long and Mayor John Gunter suggested the council explore other options. <\/p>\n

Long pointed out Cape Coral would still have to pay for the hotel rooms at the current federal General Services Administration (GSA) rate. <\/p>\n

“So alls we’re doing is pre-paying an amount in excess of what we realistically would pay if we just went to a local hotel and rented out a block,” Long said. <\/p>\n

The GSA rate is how much federal employees are reimbursed for travel and food while on official business. The Lee County GSA rate is currently $139 a night.<\/a> GSA rates are lower than average, City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said. <\/p>\n

Mayor Gunter said it might be cheaper to put city employees at hotels around the city instead of approving the incentives. City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn pushed back. <\/p>\n

“I’ve been there, we’ve done it as Public Works director, as assistant city manager. There’s nowhere,” Ilczyszyn said. “We’re shoving people in closets.” <\/p>\n

The city manager said other Cape Coral hotels sit in flood zones and pose a risk to first responders. Council Member Bill Steinke said the deal is a win-win for the city. <\/p>\n

Steinke also sits on the Lee County Tourist Development Council. He said Cape Coral doesn’t have enough hotel rooms and could use the extra bed tax revenue. <\/p>\n

“We need to do everything we can to encourage these hotels to come our way and provide these rooms for us,” Steinke said. <\/p>\n

The council ultimately voted to approve the incentives, 5-2. <\/p>\n

Council members Bill Steinke, Laurie Lehmann, Derrick Donnell, Joe Kilraine, and Rachel Kaduk voted in favor. Mayor John Gunter and Council member Keith Long voted no. <\/p>\n

The project is expected to start next month and be completed in April 2027, according to Council documents. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CAPE CORAL, Fla. \u2014 City Council approved $2.5 million in incentives Wednesday for a hotel project that could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,263,211,210],"class_list":["post-16858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-florida","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16858","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=16858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}