{"id":226122,"date":"2026-04-10T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226122\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:30:09","slug":"exclusive-diamondhead-looking-to-add-57-rooms-beach-talk-radio-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226122\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: DiamondHead Looking To Add 57 Rooms – Beach Talk Radio News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Earlier this week DiamondHead General Manager Neil Hopgood presented expansion plans for the resort to his next door neighbors at the Surf Song condo building. The DiamondHead team is hoping to add 57 rooms to the existing 121 rooms currently at the resort.<\/p>\n

Before the town of Fort Myers Beach incorporated in the mid 90\u2019s Lee County approved a project on the DiamondHead property to build 154 units and go up as high as 15 stories over parking. Everyone knows the history of incorporation and what drove the town to break from Lee County.<\/p>\n

The permitting of the development was contentious and faced legal challenges. To move forward and expedite the construction, ownership decided to reduce the height of the building by 3 floors, but maintained the right to all density. So by right, under a Development Order granted by Lee County, DiamondHead was approved for 154 rooms, and 12 stories over parking. However, the town is now incorporated, and has its own rules.<\/p>\n

Under the town\u2019s current zoning, by right, DiamondHead can only go up 30 feet above base flood elevation and 3 stories over parking. DiamondHead will be asking for an extension to the existing building and a new building. The extension will basically be an add-on to the the current portion of the existing building, on the Surf Song side of Estero Boulevard. That extension would have 33 rooms, 12 floors above parking, and go up a total of 127 feet from grade, the same height as the existing building.<\/p>\n

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A new stand alone building, closer to the Gulf, would have another 24 rooms, 9 floors above parking, and go up a total of approximately 117 feet from grade. In addition to the height request for both structures, DiamondHead will be asking the town to approve the additional 24 units, above the 154 they were granted by Lee County. While these pictures may change before being submitted, the DiamondHead team will be asking the town for a rezoning of the property.<\/p>\n

Hopgood told Beach Talk Radio News, \u201cAfter more than three years of restoration following Hurricane Ian, DiamondHead has positioned itself as a leading revitalized hotelier on Fort Myers Beach. With few new guestrooms likely island-wide for several years, our approved plans can add 57 rooms to the island\u2019s inventory! With strong 2026 peak-season demand and the Town\u2019s positive restoration momentum, we are confident this addition will support growing demand. This expansion will inject spending into local businesses, create construction and hospitality jobs, grow occupancy and property-tax revenues for beach renourishment and parks, smooth seasonality, and offer an additional venue for locals and visitors alike, keeping Fort Myers Beach competitive.\u201d
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At the meeting with the neighbors, it was unanimous that they were not in favor of the building closest to the Gulf. They said it would block their view of the beach, devalue their property and cast a shadow on their pool throughout the day. Both sides agreed they enjoyed the neighborly relationship over the years and the Surf Song resident appreciated seeing the plans first before they were even submitted to the town.<\/p>\n

DiamondHead Resort was an outstanding partner for the town of Fort Myers Beach post Hurricane Ian. They opened the resort quickly and were ready to help within days. Whatever the town needed, the resort was there for them, from opening their ballroom to all government meetings to event space for local charitable organizations. They certainly have banked years of goodwill with the town and they\u2019re hoping to meet the hotel room demand on the island.<\/p>\n

Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this week DiamondHead General Manager Neil Hopgood presented expansion plans for the resort to his next door…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,8660],"class_list":{"0":"post-226122","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","11":"tag-email1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226122","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=226122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}