On Monday the Fort Myers Beach Town Council unanimously approved renovations, upgrades and a new building planned for the Lighthouse Resort.
The Lighthouse, located at the base of the Matanzas Pass Bridge, has been owned by the Kolar family for over 60 years. After we posted the approval news on our Facebook page Monday, owner Tommy Kolar commented, “Thank you Beach Talk Radio, I feel very blessed to be part of such a great community.”
The resort will go from the current 75 units to 130 when completed. An additional building adjacent to the Matanzas Pass Bridge will include a new pool and restaurant that is open to the public.
The Kolar family will also modernize the look of the current buildings on the property today and convert a pebbled walkway between their property and the bridge into a mini lighted park that’s much safer for people to navigate their way from the bridge to Old San Carlos.Â
The Kolar family is now in its 4th generation of ownership of The Lighthouse. Each generation has improved the property for the next generation. The Kolar’s also own Yucatan which was part of the property before the Matanzas Pass Bridge was built. In fact some of the property the Kolar’s owned was eminent domained in the late 70’s to build the bridge which now cuts through the property they once owned.
The upgrades and improvements also include reducing the retail space on the property from 5,000 square feet to 500 square feet.Â
The LPA voted 7-0 to approve the project last month this month and there has been nothing but support from the community for the project.
Kolar said this plan was two years in the making and it’s unlikely he would be able to break ground on the new building for at least three years.Â
Thank you for your plans to improve the pathway under the bridge. As a resident who takes advantage of our inexpensive pass to park there we use that path often (usually with a visit to your establishment to begin or end our evening)