Construction is about to officially kick off on the site of Times Square on Fort Myers Beach the destination heavily damaged during Hurricane Ian nearly four years ago.<\/p>\n
Going up is is a three-story, 41,285-square-foot mixed-use beachfront development named Sunset Beach Resort. The property will have six hotel rooms.<\/p>\n
According to Benchmark General Contractors, the $13 million project is built on the site of the former Sunset Beach Tropical Grill and The Playmore Tiki Bar.<\/p>\n
Times Square is a pedestrian friendly plaza and gathering space on Fort Myers Beach. It sits near where the Matanzas Pass Bridge empties onto Estero Boulevard. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Like the entire barrier island, it suffered massive damage during Hurricane Ian in September 2022.<\/p>\n
In the nearly four years since the storm, there has been an ongoing<\/a> \u2014 and often fierce \u2014 debate about what direction the rebuilding should take, with some advocating the island embrace growth<\/a> with major projects while others argue for it to return as a more traditional beach town.<\/p>\n This Sunset Beach project got caught up in that fight.<\/p>\n