Owners of 10 properties on Fort Myers Beach have been notified that, after 19 months of doing nothing, the structures on their property must come down. And those property owners will be notified that if the town has to take their structures down in the coming weeks and months they will add the demo expense to their tax bills. Here’s who’s on that list.
The town will be approaching this long-term cleanup in chunks, going after 10 properties at time. Putting a fence around a dangerous structure is no longer good enough. Sending someone to spray the weeds and trim the trees won’t cut it. The town wants these unsafe structures taken down now and the properties cleaned up.
Earlier this week the Fort Myers Beach Town Council passed a new ordinance giving Town Manager Andy Hyatt and his staff the teeth to move forward. Hyatt and the Town Attorney wanted to make sure they had their legal ducks in a row. The Town Council has been pushing staff to accelerate this process and now Hyatt and his team believe they stand on solid legal ground being that this does involve property rights.
The town wanted to make sure it gave property owners enough time to respond to their repeated attempts to reach them. All those boxes have now been checked and the town is starting with property owners who have been ignoring their requests to explain what’s happening. Is it an insurance issue? Are you waiting for a demo permit? Waiting for the property to sell is not an excuse for leaving it in disrepair.
Many residents are beyond frustrated with how long it’s taken for some structures they drive by every day, or live next to, that are just sitting in dangerous disrepair. They’ve all been going through the steps of dealing with insurance, demolishing their dream homes, dealing with contractors, getting permits and living in trailers. They want action and the Town Council has heard them loud and clear.
Both commercial and residential structures are on the first list. Town staff planned to have a conference call today to determine what would be put in a letter which will be served on the property owner. Once that letter has been served the property owner has 30 days to appeal. Failure to appeal in the time specified will constitute a waiver of all rights to an administrative hearing.
Here’s a full list of the first 10 properties the town wants cleaned up or taken down. The next step, if these properties do not come into compliance, will be for the town to move forward and start the process of cleaning them up or demolishing them.
The Neptune Resort at 2310 Estero Boulevard. The owners of The Neptune presented the community with plans for a new resort on August 8, 2023. We interviewed the owners outside the resort not to long after where they gave us an update on their plans. The last communication with the town appears to be May 24, 2024. The Neighborhood Company, on behalf of Neptune Owners Continental Hospitality, responded to an Insufficiency letter. The response was 110 pages.
We reached out to Continental Hospitality for an update on the project earlier this week. Adam Valente from the Continental Hospitality Group said: “The latest is that we’re still in for staff review/comment, so we are somewhat in a holding pattern. We’ve been working through cost and proforma iterations and doing our best to have a project that accomplishes all the goals we set out to achieve – mainly delivering on both town/local objectives and financial viability. That hasn’t been the easiest with the current economic challenges, but we remain committed and optimistic (most days).”
The town of Fort Myers Beach has notified the owners that the Neptune Resort must be demolished.
The Old Hoosiers in Paradise Building (not owned by the owners of the restaurant) has also made the naughty list. A portion of this building was shaved off months ago but the remaining piecen of the building remains open and unsafe. The town said it should be demolished. We hear the owners of the building are trying to determine if the building can be saved (under the 50% FEMA rule) however they’ve done nothing to secure the building.
The Dolphin Inn Located at 6555 Estero Boulevard.
This 22-room resort went up for sale in July of 2023 for $6.9 million. Today you can pick it up for $4.75 million. The Town of Fort Myers Beach says there was some demo done on the building but it now appears to be abandoned and the town wants the building completely demolished.
The T-Shirt Shop at 2401 Estero Boulevard. This is the building the Mayor has said remains open and unsafe and he’s seen kids climbing through the building which looks like it has not been touched since Hurricane Ian. The town report said the building must be demolished.
UPDATE: The building was demolished on Thursday, June 6th.
There are also 6 homes on the town’s first unsafe structure list.
Here they are:
8297 Estero Boulevard. The town states that the demo was started but now the home appears the be abandoned
8211 Estero Boulevard.
The town states the home appears to be salvageable but is now abandoned
7955 Estero Boulevard
The town states that the home appears to be salvageable but is now abandoned.
7831 Estero Boulevard.
The town says the home looks salvageable but has been abandoned.
110 Egret Street.
The town says the home is salvageable but abandoned.
Thank you to Jan Fleming, Greg Scasny and Ed Schoonover for help with the photos.
The reason some are on “the list” and others aren’t when they should be is because the owners are friendly with the council and staff. The town lets some getaway with what they penalize others for. Lawsuit waiting to happen.
Oh good grief. More meritless accusations.
My decision to not carry flood insurance on a paid for home should not carry any weight as to FEMA’s their decision. Any damage from flooding can be easily covered by what my premiums would be without the hassle of filling fighting the insurance company.
FEMA is also deciding who’s non compliant with their floodplain rules. People built non fema compliant structures, didn’t adhere to the 50/50 rule and were working without the proper permits. And some the town let them get away with it. Now ALL of us are paying for it. That’s the list that should be published. The people who did this are hurting everyone financially who has a home and flood insurance. EVERYONE will pay for their inconsiderate actions! Most know the rules, just decided not to adhere to them. Post their addresses. Get the FEMA list.
Funny how BTR won’t list those addresses, BTR seem to be able to get other information as needed……if it suits to the benefit of the TC and the Mayor! 🤷🏼♀️
Yo Claire did u read the article? The addresses are listed
The reference is to the properties that were restored without permits.
How uninformed.
The FEMA list is not public and, in fact, only the town’s floodplain manager had access to it. FEMA sent it password protected to the floodplain manager.
If you bothered to attend TC meetings or pay attention, you’d know that.
Agree 100%. List the properties that were restored without permits. If the town surveyed all the properties after the hurricane, it should be easy to compile the list. Code enforcement should be working overtime to cite these properties. I’m looking at one right now that needed plumbing, electrical and windows. No permit pulled. Owner from east coast. Work was done evenings and weekends by east coast workers and no license numbers on their vehicles. No porta potties on property. Too much to ask of staff?
What about the list of homes that are risking our FEMA flood insurance discount? They are just as detrimental to all of us as these homes are. The homeowners who intentionally decided to put us all at risk of losing our discount due to not adhering to the 50/50 rule, not building fema compliant structures, and not working within the scope of their permit, their addresses should be made public too.
I am surprised the house on Estero where the whole front is missing and the stove fell off the 2nd floor and is laying on the ground — does not appear here. Maybe in round two.
I am the owner of 7945 Estero Blvd. Not sure how the person taking the picture could have missed the new front posts being installed or the permit being posted.
FYI, no notice from the town has ever been received.
I am the owner of 7945 Estero Blvd, which is shown on your list. Not sure how the person taking the picture could have missed the new front posts being installed or the permit being posted.
FYI, no notice from the town has ever been received. It would also not make any sense, since the town issued the rebuild permit.
That’s really strange — the permit is right there in the town’s database, including the one labeled “job site copy.”
Hope you can get it sorted out; hopefully they won’t come demo what you’re rebuilding WITH A PERMIT. That would be awful.
This is an easy one. If you zoom in on the picture you can see a paper posted. Whether it’s a permit or not how would a guy (me) know taking a picture know without infringing on your property rights and trespassing if it’s a permit. Also you have made progress since the picture was posted so between Wednesday and today you have made progress and your structure seems more safe. Your issue is with the town. Not the photographer. Just so we are straight. Congrats on your progress.
Wyndham, fresh catch and tropical sunset all need to be added NOW!
Totally agree Tropical Sunset had a fire way before Ian. Not to mention in the center of town no less. Enough is enough with them. City tear it down already!!
How is that mess across from the Pink Shell not on the list? It was ready to come down before Ian!
There was some people walking around the building saying they where planning fixing and reopening
The Fresh Catch…. 🙏
Fresh Catch only rented that space and they relocated to behind the Publix and have been open for a while. Super nice!
Why would the town even comment that a property may be salavagable? The owner now has, in writing, that they may be able to repair the property. Words are like spices, too many is worse than too few. Get the Wyndam and Fresh Catch on the list soon.
Because the salvageability isn’t based on what the town thinks. It’s FEMA who decides.
The town doesn’t have to mention it.
Why isn’t the Wyndham not top on the list. They have done absolutely nothing and it’s so dangerous!
I own one of the properties on this list, I have never ever received a notice, letter, nothing. I only knew because I have cameras on property, I reached out to town(April24)when I noticed an inspector was there, I had a few questions on how to move forward with the property, we purchased the property in September (it’s cleaned up and maintained). The previous owner is going thru litigation with their insurance carrier, which has our hands tied a bit. We may have to take a different route than anticipated, and I am more than willing to do so, but to state the town has made repeated attempts is not true, the only attempt made was by me to town, and my email to town has still been left unanswered.
If you bought a house not free and clear and had the person you were buying from having an ongoing litigation with insurance, which wasn’t closed out prior to closing, then you are subject to things like this.
Agree with Lou, those should be on top 10 list.
My guess is the town is giving them time/pass for allowing them to use these properties for sand storage during the berm project.
How can The Wyndham and the Fresh Catch restaurant not be on this list? They are the ugliest eyesores on the beach.
Exactly!
So the Neptune can absolutely continue with their planning and reviews for the new resort, but how does that give them the right to allow that building to just languish. They are a bad neighbor. Don’t think that the residents don’t notice these things when it comes time for support.
Right?!
It’s appalling they can spend significant time and money on plans for a (re)build, but cannot address the ruins. Definitely not the way to gain resident support for their project.