{"id":288060,"date":"2026-05-28T21:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/288060\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:07:28","slug":"long-vacant-estero-property-could-become-apartments-and-retail-spaces-under-new-proposal-lee-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/288060\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-vacant Estero property could become apartments and retail spaces under new proposal | Lee County"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 A long-vacant property at one of Estero<\/a>\u2019s busiest intersections could soon be transformed into a large mixed-use development with hundreds of apartments, retail space, and open-air cafes.<\/p>\n

The Residential Group is proposing a mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Estero Parkway and Three Oaks Parkway.<\/a>\u00a0 The proposal includes 370 apartment units and 33,000 square feet of commercial space.<\/p>\n

Right now, the property is mostly open land, home to wildlife and vegetation. But if approved, developers want to turn the area into a walkable community with apartments, retail shops, outdoor seating areas, cafes, and Mediterranean-style coastal architecture.<\/p>\n

The proposal was recently presented to Estero\u2019s Planning, Zoning, and Design Board.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Longtime Estero resident Jim Saccomanni says he has watched the area rapidly change over the past four decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growth has been phenomenal, really,\u201d Saccomanni said. \u201cUsed to be a lot of dirt roads and a lot of area for wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saccomanni said while he understands growth is inevitable, he worries about the long-term impact continued development could have on the environment, infrastructure, and traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you’re growing that fast, what are you doing to the environment?\u201d Saccomanni said. \u201cWe always hear water shortages. We always hear about driving and traffic concerns. Are we doing our due diligence to make sure we’re not overpopulating the area and creating more of a problem than solving problems?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to planning documents, the property was originally approved in 1994 for a 250,000-square-foot shopping center. That project was never built.<\/p>\n

Developers now argue that the new proposal would actually generate less traffic than the previously approved shopping center plan.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

According to the developer, the proposed mixed-use development would generate an estimated 3,826 daily two-way trips, compared to nearly 9,908 under the original shopping center approval.<\/p>\n

The development proposal includes:<\/p>\n

37 studio apartments<\/p>\n

148 one-bedroom apartments<\/p>\n

148 two-bedroom apartments<\/p>\n

37 three-bedroom apartments<\/p>\n

Plans also call for open-air cafes, shaded walkways, seating areas, and retail shops.<\/p>\n

Part of the apartment complex would be gated.<\/p>\n

The property also includes approximately five acres of wetlands.<\/p>\n

Developers say they plan to expand detention areas and enlarge a planned lake to help address stormwater and flooding concerns if the project moves forward.<\/p>\n

Allan Bowditch with Engage Estero said many residents are understandably concerned whenever a large development is proposed, especially in an area already dealing with traffic and infrastructure concerns.<\/p>\n

But Bowditch said that because the property was zoned for development years before Estero became a village, local leaders have limited authority over whether something is ultimately built there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen land is zoned, as it was previously, well before Estero was a municipality, there’s only a limited amount of things that the Planning and Zoning Board can do,\u201d Bowditch said.<\/p>\n

Bowditch said the village can still influence how development looks and fits within the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cannot, unfortunately, stop a development,\u201d Bowditch said. \u201cThey can, of course, influence how that development is and looks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The developer describes the project\u2019s architecture as a blend of Mediterranean and modern coastal design.<\/p>\n

Bowditch said that distinction matters because if the zoning change is denied, another commercial project could potentially still be developed on the site under existing approvals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big question really isn\u2019t whether something gets built here,\u201d Bowditch said. \u201cIt\u2019s what that development looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Saccomanni, the conversation ultimately comes back to balancing growth with preserving what longtime residents love about Estero.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t stop growth,\u201d Saccomanni said. \u201cI understand that, but just do it responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal is still in the early stages of the review process. No final decisions have been made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 A long-vacant property at one of Estero\u2019s busiest intersections could soon be transformed into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,3837,325,115],"class_list":["post-288060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-collaborator_gen_stories","tag-lee","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288060","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=288060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}