Beach Theater to be sold to owners of The Whale
Dawn and Mike Miller, owners of The Whale, said they are expecting to close on a deal to purchase the Beach Theater on Fort Myers Beach. The Millers did not disclose the price as the deal has not closed yet, though Ms. Miller announced the deal on social media.
The Millers are planning to operate a sports bar along with duckpin bowling at the former theater. Duckpin bowling, which features a smaller lane and smaller pins. Duckpin bowling had been a feature at the old Zoomers Amusement Park off Summerlin Road before Hurricane Ian.
Mrs. Miller said she is ruling out the showing of movies at the property. “For years, we have gone there every year for movies on Christmas day,” she said. “We still would love it to be a movie theater. It just doesn’t fit in the plans we’ve got. Duckpin bowling is a little but more fun and exciting, and family oriented.” Miller said the theater has high ceilings to put in “huge television screens for games.”
Mrs. Miller said that “as much as we would like to (screen movies),” it is not going to happen.”
The Beach Theater had been given approvals last year for a restaurant by the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council despite objections from some neighbors over outdoor seating and outdoor music. The Town Council granted deviations from town code to allow outdoor seating, outdoor music and a reduction in required parking spaces. According to the agreement, the outdoor music would be cut off at 9 p.m.
“We won’t be doing any of that,” Mrs. Miller said. She said her plans won’t involved anything outdoors. “It’s all going to be inside the building,” she said.
The Beach Theater was sold a few months before Hurricane Ian in 2022 as part of a $19 million deal that also included the sale of the Gulfview Manor. The properties were purchased by group that included Signature Vacation Rentals owner Stephen Boge, the owners of the Blue Dolphin Inn and the Palm Terrace Resort.
The Beach Theater, at 6425 Estero Boulevard, was valued at $4 million as part of the deal, according to Boge at the time.
The Beach Theater opened in 1999 and was the annual home for the Fort Myers Beach Film Festival for many years. It changed hands in 2011 for $1.4 million.
The theater has not shown any movies since being purchased in 2022.
“We tried to buy it before Hurricane Ian,” Mrs. Miller said. “We wanted the movie theater to stay but now movies are less of a hit than they were.”
After Hurricane Ian, the property was subject to a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Consent Order after contractors illegally removed mangroves on the property, including town mangroves. Town Environmental Projects Manager Chadd Chustz forwarded a complaint to the Department of Environmental Protection. The town’s magistrate issued the contractor, Remove it Pros, a fine of $5,000 plus a $250 administrative fee.
A Florida DEP warning letter to the contractor Remove it Pros, stated that 273 square feet of unauthorized mangrove alteration occurred at the Beach Theater property. According to the warning letter, Remove it Pros also cut mangroves owned by the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
On Feb. 28, Chustz issued citations to Estero 4148 LLC and Remove it Pros for irreparable, irreversible violations of the town code for removing the mangroves and excavating saltwater forested wetlands.
A proposed Department of Environmental Protection Consent Order proposed consent order sent to the owners Estero 4148, LLC last year proposed a $1,000 civil penalty and required corrective actions to restore the site. That includes purchasing mitigation credits to offset the loss of wetland function and implementing and monitoring an on-site mangrove planting restoration plan.
Estero 4148 LLC, who are the current owners of the property, is controlled by Candace and Kory Nanke. Mr. Nanke wasn’t available for comment when reached. Mr. Boge did not return a message seeking comment on the sale.
The owners built a new dock where the mangroves were. Mrs. Miller said the dock would not be used for commercial canal traffic. A condition of approval was that the dock’s would be limited to only the family of the owners.
“It won’t be used for mass transit,” Mrs. Miller said. Her understanding was that all of the issues from the consent order had been cleared up and that the mangroves were replaced.
The deal was the latest in a series of property purchases on the island by the Millers. They bought the former United Methodist Church property in May. They also own the former Fort Myers Beach fire station off Donora Boulevard, which they are currently using for storage and administrative purposes, and are looking at re-opening Sandy Bottom’s next summer. The couple own a company in Tennessee which makes truck parts, and previously sold off property they own in Ohio before they acquired The Whale in 2022. They reopened The Whale last year following a major rebuild.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com