After it was clear the owners of The Pink Shell properties on the north end of Fort Myers Beach were not getting much support for a new 8-story, 109 unit building with a 4-story parking garage last Summer, they’ve come back with a smaller proposal.
The new request is for a 6-story, 40 hotel/condo building, and to reconstruct two residential units and convert the spa at The Pink Shell to four hotel/condo units. The height for the new building would be a maximum of 60 feet over FEMA’s Base Flood Elevation and include parking on the first floor. The first 8-story building proposal was approximately 91 feet tall. The new building is proposed for the side of Estero Boulevard where the dilapidated house sits. The proposed parking garage in the 2023 Pink Shell proposal has been eliminated.
The Pink Shell does not have the density available on the Marina side of the property which is one of the requests they will be making to the town. Another request will be going to 60 feet from the allowable 40 feet and up 6 stories high from the allowable 3 stories.
The existing structures on the Gulfside parcels –White Sands (Pink Shell Resort), Captiva Villas, and Sanibel View Villas – avoided significant damage from Hurricane Ian. The prior existing duplex and rental cottage were damaged in Hurricane Ian and have been razed. The land south of Gulfshore Court has historically been used as an overflow surface parking lot and would be used for development or reestablishment as a parking area.
If this new proposal is approved the Pink Shell would wind up with a total of 241 units over 6 acres or 40 units per acre. There would be 96 hotel rooms at the main Pink Shell building (including the four unit spa conversion), 103 hotel/condo units in the Sanibel View and Captiva Villas, 40 hotel/condo units in the proposed new boutique hotel, and two units in former cottages lot Gulfside.
Here is a listing of what the Pink Shell owners are proposing to the town as public benefit
1. Relocated public accessways at north and south end of the bayside Dock Master building area and surface parking lot and create a public boardwalk along Matanzas Pass.
2. Landscaping improvements to Estero Boulevard for the length of the CPD, redesigned and maintained in perpetuity by the Resort..
3. Drop off/pick up location for a water taxi if that becomes a reality.
4. Pre-arrival Concierge encouraging alternative transportation.
5. Resort provided employee transportation.
6. Barge pump out for Town’s mooring fields.
7. Community support for Bay Oaks Summer Camp.
8. Community day passes to pool amenities.
9. Improved transportation circulation and options for alternative modes of travel.
10. Florida Green Lodging Program, 4 Palm Certification, through FDEP
11. Turtle Conservancy Certified Maintained Property
The new Pink Shell boutique hotel proposal is expected to go before the LPA next month.
Here is the original Pink Shell proposal from last year that they have come down from…
Local journalism is hard work. If you appreciate the most in-depth reporting on Fort Myers Beach, please support what we do HERE by Venmo, Zell or PayPal. Thank you.
This is a pretty small ask for a whole bunch of pretty good public benefits, way better than most projects we are see coming across the Town’s desk. Let’s finally get the rebuild started, the town will never recover if they deny even the reasonable development plans. This is an easy “Yes”.
I think this is a great proposal and would benefit the community. Guest love the Pink Shell and would love this as an option too. I say yes, build it.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s strange they want to convert the spa to four condo units? No more spa??
Not sure why the LPA would not consider this request. At a time when Fort Myers Beach is still struggling with the aftermath of the hurricane and the rebuild, it seems that new and meaningful private capital investment on the island would be welcome. In addition to the positive vibes new construction would bring, it would also generate job growth for local residents both during and post construction. Not to mention the increased property taxes it would generate.
Should be a denial. No density, plus their list of public benefits is basically:
* Things we want to do for the resort
* Things we’re already doing for the town (Margaritaville and Diamondhead do things for the town too, and they’re not asking for more)
* Things we promised to do “in perpetuity” and will now promise to do again (Landscaping and a Bayside park were conditions of their CPD in 2000, and they recorded a Covenant promising to “perpetually maintain an ecological and interpretive [Bayside] walkway,” containing “landscaped planting with indigenous vegetation with identification plaques providing names and information on all the plants.” They turned the southern portion of this walkway into parking lot in 2018 and did the same with the northern portion in 2022… long before Ian.)
Agree 100%.
Deny
This should be a quick decision to deny the revised PS proposal. PS transferred all the density to Gulf side so this is easy decision. In addition, the Public Benefit does almost nothing for the average FMB homeowner. I would like a lot more details on what dollar amounts are that PS is committing to Bay Oaks Summer Camp? What is cost for PS Community day passes to pool amenities? Finally, I may be wrong, but I believe PS was very opposed to Margaritaville project. I never understood PS opposition to Margaritaville.
Another…totally agree!
They lost the right to have any density on their property. I do believe that makes it a done deal for denial? However….. fabulous public benefits for sure. This is going to be interesting……
The reason that PS does not have density on the marina side is that they transferred and used it when they built on the Gulf side. They should not be allowed to build any more units.
I totally agree!
Totally agree!