Town of Fort Myers Beach Council to hold second hearing on One Particular Harbour hotel at Silver Sands site
Neighbors have objected to height, intensity of project at corner of residential street
A proposal by TPI to build a six-story, 60-unit hotel known as “One Particular Harbour” at the former site of the Silver Sands cottages on Estero Boulevard, will get a second hearing in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council today.
The developers are seeking 12 deviations from the town council, including a deviation from the town’s height limit of 30 feet for the neighborhood, and three stories over parking.
The hotel, located across from the Margaritaville Beach Resort pool, would be taller than Margaritaville Beach Resort, rising to 70 feet, or 58 feet above base flood elevation.
Council could vote to approve the project, located at the intersection of the narrow, dead-end residential street of Primo Drive at its 1 p.m. meeting on Sept. 9, although, as of press time, it had no renderings as to what a key part of the proposal would look like.
One of the conditions of the project’s approval is that TPI build a pedestrian barrier along Estero Boulevard. There have been no renderings, drawings, or measurements presented to date of what the barrier would like on the county road. Any barrier would need separate county approval, which would only be contingent on the town first approving the plans. The county owns Estero Boulevard and its sidewalks.
TPI’s Tom Torgerson, who developed the Margaritaville Beach Resort, has said he intends to have the barrier run from the intersection at Primo Drive down to Crescent Street, though there are other private properties along that side of the road.
Torgerson confirmed on Monday that TPI has not submitted renderings to the town for the pedestrian barrier. Torgerson called such renderings “a future issue to address.”
Torgerson has said last month he had favorable discussions with county officials regarding his plans for the barriers, though a county spokesperson said that only there was an informal meeting with the developer related to the developer’s rezoning request with respect to impacts to the county’s Estero Boulevard right-of-way.
Part of Torgerson’s plans for what he calls the “jaywalk” barriers, are to also expand the county’s sidewalks by five feet.
Meanwhile, former Fort Myers Beach Mayor Tracey Gore, who lives on Primo Drive, said she was opposed to the barriers without seeing any renderings, and said it could create further safety issues on the narrow sidewalks. “There should be a rendering of what it is going to looking like and showing us what it is going to do,” Gore said. Further, Gore pointed out that there are several private properties, which are for sale, along that section of Estero Boulevard that could be impacted by the barriers. “You can’t block their properties,” she said.
Gore said that if the town wants the county to put up pedestrian barriers, it should make a presentation to the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization first, and go through a proper review. The town, she said, “is doing it backwards.”
Last year, the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council approved allowing electric bikes on the narrow Estero Boulevard sidewalks, which was controversial at the time over safety concerns.
Gore said the project should be limited to the size and intensity that is allowed under the code. According to the town’s planning consultant, the property owners are only entitled to 18 hotel rooms by right.
There was previously 22 small cottages and a pool at the Silver Sands Resort, with the property dating back to the 1920s, before it was wiped out by Hurricane Ian.
“They have to do something so it’s not as impactful to the neighbors,” Gore said. Among the conditions she wants to see is a limit on the use of the docks on the canal behind the property. She wants them limited to the use of guests, so that it can’t be used as a canal for commercial traffic.
Gore also wants to ensure the conditions of approval limit noise from the rooftop pool that is proposed.
During a Local Planning Agency hearing, Chair Anita Cereceda pushed for a condition of approval that requires there to be no live, amplified music at the pool, which the developers agreed to. Gore wants to ensure that includes any amplified music.
The narrow, dead-end road feeds out into Estero Boulevard at the busiest section of town during the busy winter season, where traffic is regularly backed up. Neighbors have expressed concern for how difficult it may be to get out onto the road as a new hotel is serviced by additional deliveries and visitors.
Primo Drive, a dead end street which some residents say is too narrow to handle the traffic from a 60-room hotel proposed at the intersection of Estero Boulevard. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
TPI is also seeking deviations from town code to be able to build just 51 parking spaces, which is less than town code requires.
The Silver Sands property is currently being used as an office for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, as well as for parking for employees of Margaritaville Beach Resort. The Sheriff’s Office outreach center would be relocated if the hotel is built, with employee parking shifting off island to Buttonwood Drive.
Torgerson said employees for Margaritaville Beach Resort and One Particular Harbour would be transported from a site off Buttonwood Drive to work after the hotel went under construction.
Gore said “it’s a nightmare to get out” onto Estero Boulevard in the middle of season from Primo Drive. Traffic typically backs up at that section of Estero Boulevard during most of the day during season.
“It is too high, it is too intense, and it is too many people for this little corner of a residential street with a very narrow road,” Gore said.
Gore is concerned about vehicles on Primo Drive being able to get around trucks making deliveries.
“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 Boulevard 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.
Torgerson, who is working with John Dammermann of TPI to build the project, said the hotel would act quasi-independently of Margaritaville, though guests would have access to all of the amenities at Margaritaville and could put charges at Margaritaville on their Silver Sands Resort room bill.
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.
TPI initially announced plans to build a resort on the lot but a year after purchasing the .74 acre lot at 1207 Estero Boulevard, TPI-FMB put the land up for sale, asking $9.9 million. The property was still listed for sale as of last month, though Torgerson said it is no longer for sale.
“Guests will have access to every amenity at Margaritaville, the gym and wellness classes, the beach club, the chairs on the beach, the spa, all restaurants and bars, be able to make all Margaritaville charges to their Silver Sands room, etc.,” Torgerson said in an email.
The intersection of Estero Boulevard and Primo Drive, with The Whale (at left). The 60-room One Particular Harbour hotel would go at right, on a .74 acre lot. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
Gore referenced the town’s resiliency meeting over the summer, where the town asked for feedback of what town residents want the town to look like in the future.
“Town residents said we want to keep this small town vibe and limit height. This would be the tallest project approval in my neighborhood since incorporation (30 years ago),” Gore said.
Gore said she believes town councilmembers are not showing enough concern for those worried about commercial development intruding on residential neighborhoods.
Gore emailed town councilmembers a list of concerns and issues she had with the project proposal, but said she only received responses from Vice Mayor Scott Safford and Councilmember Rebecca Link. Mayor Dan Allers has recused himself from the review over a business relationship with TPI for his golf cart rental business.
Gore found it hypocritical that town councilmembers reviewing the project have all met or discussed the plans with the project’s planner but have not taken the same amount of time to meet or speak with residents on the street who will be most impacted by the hotel.
“They will meet with the developers all day long, but they won’t meet with their constituents,” Gore said.
Gore said she will be limited to three minutes of speaking time when she goes in front of the council at the hearing. “It’s not enough time. They are supposed to come here and meet with us,” she said.
A first hearing on the project in front of the Town Council last month drew a couple questions from Safford and Councilmember John King, though no comments or questions from the other town councilmembers. King noted that the proposed hotel would be taller than Margaritaville Beach Resort.
The Margaritaville Beach Resort was approved for up to four stories and 38 feet and 10 inches up to the roof, and up to 52 feet for architectural features.
Gore was on the town council that approved Margaritaville Beach Resort, and worked to scale down the original size of the project. Gore is worried that the new One Particular Harbour project is in effect reclaiming some of the size of the project that she had worked to limit as a compromise with the developers after community opposition to the original, larger Grand Resorts project.
At the first town council hearing last month, Safford noted that Primo Drive can busy with traffic during deliveries to The Whale, which is on the other side of Primo Drive, and which has limited parking. He asked that the developers show some good faith for the concerns of the neighbors.
Safford and Councilmember John McLean did not respond to message seeking comment. King declined comment.
Link said “it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on the project or its specific details until it comes before me for a vote at Town Council.”
Gore said the council is not taking the time to do the research to properly review the project’s details and impact to the residential neighbors.
“There are so many questions that are not being answered,” Gore said. “The code says it is not allowed. It’s the same game that London Bay and Seagate played.”