Silver Sands hotel, Wyndham Garden Inn redevelopment to get first hearings in front of Town of Fort Myers Beach Council this Monday
Plans for a new 60-room hotel at the former Silver Sands Resort property across from Margaritaville Beach Resort, go in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a hearing this Monday. File rendering
Proposals for a 60-room hotel at the former Silver Sands cottages, and a proposal for a restaurant, food trucks, tiki bar and entertainment at the former Wyndham Garden Inn, will be in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for their first hearings on Monday.
The projects were both endorsed by the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency despite both plans facing opposition from neighbors.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on Monday to hear the plans along with a packed agenda that will also include discussion about the town’s plan for charter schools, among other issues.
The five-story Silver Sands hotel, which is being put forward on a .74 acre lot fronting Estero Boulevard by Margaritaville Beach Resort developers TPI, was approved unanimously by the Local Planning Agency last month despite numerous concerns by neighbors who are worried about traffic and noise impacts to Primo Drive, the narrow residential street that runs adjacent to the property. The property formerly housed a group of resort cottages and sits across from the Margaritaville Beach Resort pool.
The Silver Sands hotel plans require 11 deviations from town code, including for the height. The height is restricted to three stories over parking under town code.
Town code limits height to 30 feet from the base flood elevation for the hotel. By the calculations of the engineers for the project, the zoned height of the Silver Sands hotel would be 58 feet above base flood elevation (70 feet in actual height).
TPI is also requesting a deviation from the town’s parking requirements in the town code to allow just 46 parking spaces on the property.
Patrick Vanasse, the planning consultant, has said the developers would be providing parking off site for employees to park.
TPI acquired the Silver Sands property on Estero Boulevard in 2023 for $7.1 million, months after the cottages on site were destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
The project also needs a deviation for the density of the project. There were 22 cottages and a pool at Silver Sands before Hurricane Ian, with the property dating back to the 1920’s. According to the town’s planning consultants, the property owners are only allowed 18 hotel rooms by right.
The Silver Sands property is currently being used as an office and outreach center for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, as well as for parking for employees of Margaritaville Beach Resort.
The property is located at the busy intersection of Estero Boulevard and Primo Drive. On the other side of Primo Drive facing Estero Boulevard, is The Whale.
The project has raised objections from neighbors along Primo Drive, a narrow street that runs between where the Silver Sands would go and The Whale.
Former Fort Myers Beach Mayor Tracey Gore, who has lived on Primo Drive for approximately 30 years, wrote a letter to the Local Planning Agency, detailing a number of criticisms to the plans.
“Currently, when two cars pass on Primo one has to pull over to make room. A regular truck cannot pull out onto Estero from Primo if there is a car turning into Primo or if a car is on the Estero Blvd turn lane. It’s too tight with our narrow road and the new county sidewalks. There are vehicles constantly pulling to the side, maneuvering now with just neighborhood and current nearby commercial use traffic. Many neighbors have put up cones and fences to stop transient drivers from pulling in and out of our driveways to turn around once they realize we are a dead-end street,” Gore said.
“The Whale often has delivery trucks on Primo. When this happens, Primo residents and guests must navigate tightly around the delivery vehicle, usually using part of the area where the Sheriff Sub-Station is, to get around. The Planner does not tell you where this new CPD will park its delivery vehicles. We cannot afford to have our road blocked in case we need emergency assistance,” Gore wrote.
Gore said that “60 units in a six-story building where there used to be quaint cottages on less that 3/4 of an acre that use to be home to cozy cottages holding 20-22 units is way out of scale for this neighborhood. The height would be taller than Margaritaville, which was not supposed to set a precedent, yet the planner uses it as a precedent.”
In her letter, Gore wrote “We all live somewhere on this island, and as you are well aware, we are all trying to protect the street we live on,” Gore wrote. ” Many of my voting resident neighbors are at their summer homes. Anita is aware of who they are and how tired they are of constantly having to fight to protect our neighborhood.”
Gore sent photos to the LPA of cars blocking Primo Drive currently and fears the situation will grow worse with the limited parking planned for Margaritaville.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers is expected to recuse himself from voting due to a business relationship with TPI.
Asked about the packed agenda for Monday, which was also expected to be followed on Wednesday by a hearing on the Outrigger Beach Resort which has since been canceled, Allers said “”each application has followed its own timeline and legal review process. The Town cannot delay or expedite applications based on the season or when residents may be away.
Each project will receive its own careful review, and there will be multiple public hearings, giving residents several opportunities to provide input before any final decisions are made.”
The Wyndham Garden Hotel, stood as a hotel on Fort Myers Beach since 1969. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
Wyndham Garden Inn
The owners of the former Wyndham Garden Inn, meanwhile, are looking for approvals for a restaurant and tiki bar, with six mobile trailers at 6890 Estero Boulevard. The Town of Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency approved the development agreement last month.
The property owners need seven deviations from town code, including parking, and are seeking a development agreement with the town.
The property owners, FMBH LLC, presented plans for two phases. John Callis, representing the Pohlmann family, said the long-term intention is for a hotel to go on the site but the plans currently do not include a hotel use.
The second phase would include a wave dissipation wall, which the town has been calling a wave mitigation wall, and which many in the public commonly refer to as a seawall. The wave wall did bring concern from Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda during the meeting, and for the impact it could have on the environment and surrounding properties.
Larry Gulleen, president of the Sand Caper Condominium Association, next door, also expressed concern about the impact of the proposed wave barrier. Gulleen referred to the seawall at Leonardo Arms, just down the road from their property. “When Milton came in, the associations on both sides were heavily hit. So we are concerned about the impact of that wave barrier upon our property, upon the wildlife area that’s there (Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area), and upon the berm that we spent so much money on.”
The second phase would also include the construction of a permanent restaurant structure, recreation area, pool and “lazy river.” The owners do not expect construction of the permanent restaurant structure to take place for at least another three years.
LPA member Jim Boan was the lone vote at the Local Planning Agency meeting, citing his objections to a 24-hour overnight parking proposal for part of the property. The parking plans also received objections from neighbors at the Sand Caper.
The development order includes seven deviations from land development code. The deviations include allowing the use of crushed shale and rock for the parking lot, instead of asphalt. The deviations also include a variance from buffer requirements, and to allow the joint use parking area for any business on the island with valet parking in phase two of the project.
As a public benefit, the owners are offering public beach access at the property. As a condition of that public beach access, town staff is requiring that the beach access goes to the mean high water line.
Though the owner offered the public beach access, the LPA actually insisted that an approval is conditioned a requirement that there be no beach parking allowed at the property. LPA Chair Anita Cereceda sought to limit any parking on the site for only those who will go to the restaurant or tiki bar. Callis ultimately agreed to the condition.
The restaurant and tiki bar will be in the form of a tiki/pole barn structure with restaurant and ancillary uses to be provided via six mobile trailers and a recreation area.
Phase two of the plan calls for a Wave dissipation wall with the 5,000 square foot permanent restaurant structure within the tiki/pole barn structure and recreation area to include a pool and lazy river.
The old Wyndham Garden Inn was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Once known as a Holiday Inn, the hotel dated back to 1969. At the time of Hurricane Ian, the hotel also had a Pinchers restaurant, and tiki bar, on site. The beach area behind the hotel has long been a popular spot for beach chairs and Jet Ski rentals.
The 11.2 acre parcel is zoned for Commercial Resort, of which 3.8 acres is developable, landward of the Coastal Construction Line.
The Local Planning Agency hearing also included concerns from board members and neighbors about noise from the site.
John Callis, representing the owners at the meeting, Callis said there could be sound curtains that could be put up to mitigate the sound impacts from the entertainment and music at the site. He said he has put up sound curtains for pickleball courts to mitigate sound impacts.
Cereceda insisted that sound curtains be a condition of approval, which the applicant agreed to.
The restaurant’s hours would be from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Amplified sound was originally proposed from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. After Cereceda consulted with Callis during a break, there was agreement to change the amplified sound hours from noon to 9 p.m.
Parking at the site was another bone of contention amongst LPA members and neighbors. Under phase 1, there would be 163 spaces. Contrary to nearly all of the major projects the town has seen since Hurricane Ian, that would actually be more than is allowed. According to Vanasse, they are required to have 144 parking spaces.
Vanasse said the owners also want a gaited parking lot with 36 spaces that is restricted to valet parking. Vanasse said the owners want to be able to use that parking to enter into parking agreements with other properties in town for joint parking agreements.
Vanasse referred to the Beach Theater, whose approval includes the use of offsite parking at the Dolphin Inn. If the owners of the Beach Theater were to sell the Dolphin Inn, they could enter into an agreement with the owners of the Wyndham property for overflow parking, Vanasse said. “We would allow valet parking and overnight parking for other properties that have parking deviations,” he said. Vanasse also cited Myerside Resort as another example.
On phase two, there would be 237 parking spaces, though Vanasse said the requirement is for 147. That is an excess of 90 spaces. “We had 200 parking spaces at the former resort,” Vanasse said.
Cereceda said there was concern from neighbors in the emails she received, regarding the parking proposal.
Larry Gulleen, representing the board of directors of the Sand Caper, said the association supported a proposed restaurant and proposed beach access, but objected to the parking plans, the wave wall and the buffers.
“We’re concerned that they shoved everything against the Coastal Construction Line to make more room for parking. If they shove everything back 30 feet, they don’t have to go over the Coastal Construction Line,” Gulleen said.
Gulleen said the association also has concerns about the beach and wildlife area, and the hours of the amplified music. Gulleen said that “is not keeping with a residential area. We tell our people to use earbuds and earphones on the pool and at their lanais.”
Gulleen said they didn’t mind the music in the evening, but that it was buffered by the old buildings.
Gulleen argued that the town can’t permit by code a series of accessory structures without a primary structure. The association supports the return of the hotel but expressed concern with the level of enforcement currently in the critical wildlife area to prevent such nuisances as unleashed dogs chasing nesting shorebirds, which is prohibited in town code. Gulleen said the association wants a no-pet policy like Bonita Beach.
Gulleen said the proposal would change the character of the neighborhood from before Hurricane Ian, where the hotel served the local community, as compared to the current proposal, which he believed would lead to more outsiders coming and going.
“We think this can be significantly changed,” Gulleen said.
Boan said the overnight parking request from the applicants was premature until they have a user listed. He questioned whether there would be 24-hour valet parking.
Cereceda questioned the use of overnight parking as well. Vanasse said there was overnight parking previously at the site.
Vanasse said the overnight parking would only be accessed by valet parking, who would access the overnight parking site by an e-bike or scooter. “I think we all know that e-bikes and scooters changed for the whole game,” Vanasse said.
Max Forgey, of Forgey Planning LLC, spoke on behalf of the Sand Caper, and said the proposed development is inconsistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan. Forgey said the 237 parking spaces proposed doesn’t promote the small-town character that the town’s Comprehensive Plan seeks to protect.
Boan said he supported a traffic study, which is also a staff recommendation. He also wants county review, in case another lane is needed on Estero Boulevard to support a turn-in lane.
Boan also objected to a proposal by the applicant which he interpreted to bypass a public hearing for the board’s future review of a permit for a hotel. Boan said he found that “unacceptable.”
The language in the development agreement he referred to stated “the property owner and developer retains the right to build a commercial resort consistent with the Land Development Code and 2045 Comprehensive Plan through the development order and/or building permit process without the need for a public hearing. However, any future proposed development of a commercial resort not in compliance with the existing regulations shall require an amendment of this Agreement before Town Council.”
Vanasse said the owners would still need to go back to the LPA if they seek to develop a hotel.
If the construction of phase two of the project has not commenced within five years, the developer must provide written notice to the town requesting extension or modification, or termination of the plans.
A second hearing for both projects is expected to take place on Monday, Aug. 24.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com
To reach Nathan Mayberg, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com