New development plans for Times Sqaure
Shlomo Melloul hopes the plans he has submitted to redevelop his properties at Times Square will help jumpstart the Fort Myers Beach commercial and tourist center.
Melloul has put forth plans for a three-story building on two Times Square parcels, which would include a rooftop bar, retail space and restaurant.
Melloul made a big splash with his first foray into the Fort Myers Beach real estate market as part of a limited liability company which bought the former Plaka on the each property in 2024 for $3.5 million and then acquired the former Pete’s Time Out property next door in 2025 for $1.5 million.
Now, Melloul wants to build a rooftop restaurant and a retail business on the property, overlooking the Gulf.
Both properties are located at the corner of Times Square facing the Fort Myers Beach Pier, looking out over Lynn Hall Memorial Park and the Gulf.
Melloul said he can’t wait for work to start at the pier and is miffed that construction hasn’t yet begun on the pier, more than three years after Hurricane Ian left it in pieces. “This is a long time,” he said. “We are already (three and a half) years from the hurricane.” According to Lee County officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still reviewing the county’s plans to rebuild the pier.
The Dania Beach developer’s plans include rentable storage space for local street vendor kiosks on the ground floor with a public shade station and water station, as well as an art installation.
Glass-enclosed elevators and open staircases would lead to a retail space on the second floor, overlooking Times Square.
The third floor would include a restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining and a rooftop bar.
Melloul said he hasn’t yet selected which retail and restaurant vendor he will use. “I want to get a good tenant for the restaurant,” he said.
Melloul’s plans will require approval from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a couple deviations from town code. The height of the building is five feet higher than the 30-feet limit of the town. Melloul said he would begin construction as soon as he gains approvals.
“I can’t wait to build it,” Melloul said. “I am excited to see this building going.”
Melloul said he “likes the location that I bought. I like Fort Myers Beach. And I see very good potential for the beach. I hope to see the pier going up soon.”
Melloul said when the pier is finally up it will be a boost for his business and “for everybody.”
Melloul has worked on real estate, building resort developments, and acquiring and building retail and mixed-use projects in South Florida.
These two empty lots at Times Square would be developed into a three-story commercial building and restaurant on Fort Myers Beach under plans submitted to the town. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
In a description of the plans submitted to the town by MHK Architecture, the developer stated he hopes the building will serve as “a a catalyst for redevelopment efforts within the west end of Times Square.”
The plans refer to the ground floor infrastructure to support the street vendor space as part of helping to reestablish the “funky street bazaar character that historically defined this district while the western façade will be dedicated to a permanent art installation designed by a local Fort Myers Beach artist.”
The art installation is referred to as a “permanent cultural mural.”
The building design incorporates a public shade station at the western end of the ground floor and public water station at the eastern end providing beachgoers with “a necessary climatic respite just steps from the Fort Myers Beach Pier and Lynn Hall Memorial Park,” the plans stated.
The development is being proposed as a development agreement. According to the proposal, Melloul is “aware of the ongoing wave mitigation study and stands ready to support by providing its fair-share contribution toward future infrastructure, ensuring the development serves as a resilient anchor that safeguards both the economic vitality and the physical longevity of Times Square.”
A rendering of the proposed three-story commercial building at Times Square where Plaka on the Beach and Pete’s Time Out stood before they were wiped out by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Rendering by MHK Architecture
In addition to the height deviation, the project would require a slight increase in the building intensity by requesting a modified floor area ratio of 2.4 while remaining within the 2.5 floor area ratio maximum of the future land use map.
The increase in intensity is requested in order to “accommodate modern building codes and flood-proofing infrastructure,” the request stated. “The requested deviation allows the project to provide the pedestrian commercial activity envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan. By stacking retail, storage, and dining, the project achieves a high level of vitality without expanding the building’s horizontal footprint. This intensity is appropriate for properties within a primary activity center like Times Square and is mitigated by the inclusion of significant public benefits, such as the rooftop public gathering place, the shade and water stations and the public art mural, which ensure the project contributes more to the public realm than it draws from it.”
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com