The plaza, along with adjacent buildings and four hotels across Estero Boulevard overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, was purchased in 2004 by investors who intended to redevelop the area.

But Hurricane Charley struck in August of that year; the hotels were damaged and later torn down."/>
The plaza, along with adjacent buildings and four hotels across Estero Boulevard overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, was purchased in 2004 by investors who intended to redevelop the area.

But Hurricane Charley struck in August of that year; the hotels were damaged and later torn down."/>
The plaza, along with adjacent buildings and four hotels across Estero Boulevard overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, was purchased in 2004 by investors who intended to redevelop the area.

But Hurricane Charley struck in August of that year; the hotels were damaged and later torn down." />
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A once in a lifetime opportunity

3 min read
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To the editor:

The day after Christmas, the News-Press published “It’s Fort Myers Beach’s ‘black hole'”. The article detailed the latest chapter in the the Times Square redevelopment saga, concerning Seafarer’s Village and the related Gulf-side properties.

The plaza, along with adjacent buildings and four hotels across Estero Boulevard overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, was purchased in 2004 by investors who intended to redevelop the area.

But Hurricane Charley struck in August of that year; the hotels were damaged and later torn down. Then the bottom dropped out of the real estate market.

Now Times Square FMB LLC, which represents the investors, has lost the property in a $35 million foreclosure lawsuit filed in August 2008 by Fifth Third Bank.

Even though Lee Circuit Judge Jay Rosman issued his final order April 20, the property’s sale on the courthouse steps isn’t scheduled until Jan. 13.

…For one thing, said commercial real estate broker Ed Bonkowski, the property isn’t worth close to the $35 million loaned by the bank near the height of the real estate boom in 2004.

“The value of that is less than $4 million as far as we’re concerned,” he said…

…County Commissioner Ray Judah, who represents the Fort Myers Beach area, said he’s unaware of efforts by the county to buy the property.

Larry Kiker, mayor of Fort Myers Beach, said the town isn’t likely to make a run at it.

“Our charter doesn’t allow us to borrow money past three years,” he said. “That makes it hard to go after a piece of property of that magnitude.”

Besides, Kiker said, the state requires two commercial appraisals of the property if the town were to make a bid at the Jan. 13 sale, “and we don’t have the time to do that. We’ve pretty much got our hands tied.”…”

It is incredulous that neither the county nor the town leadership is willing to look at purchasing this property for the benefit of its residents, for ten cents on the dollar, even in these hard times. What a boon this could be. All the waterfront property could be turned into a public park. and the shopping plaza could be remodeled into Town Hall. Fort Myers Beach would have a stunning open vista of the Gulf from the foot of the Sky Bridge. And our Town Hall would be located in the heart of our commercial district with ample parking, office and meeting space with handicap accessibility.

Surely there is one leader among you who is willing to invest in our residents instead of the Boston Red Sox or real estate developers. Yes, the town charter states that council may not issue revenue bonds or enter into contracts to purchase real property for which the payment would be in excess of 36 months. So, does that mean you cannot be creative?

Why not borrow the money now, for three years, and work with our Federal and State representatives, regional business owners, the tourism industry and local residents to come up with a financing plan during that three-year period?

I challenge you to take up the gauntlet and act like the elected officials that your constituency wants.

Jeff Werner

Fort Myers Beach