Tonight at 5PM at Diamondhead Resort, Fort Myers Beach residents will get their second look at the proposed plans to rebuild the Neptune Beach Resort at 2310 Estero Boulevard. It’s the 2nd public meeting, which is what the owners promised the community.
The Neptune has been on Fort Myers Beach since the 1960’s. The owners, Continental Hospitality Group, purchased the property in September of 2021. Before the storm the resort was performing well for the company, despite not having any food or beverage available for guests.
Here are some details about the proposed new Neptune:
They will be asking for more height (6 floors compared to 2).
They will be asking for more density (140 rooms compared to 71).
They will have 164 parking spaces for guests.
They would have a beach-side restaurant open to the public.
They would donate 16 parking spaces to the town.
They would add a beach access that is currently not there.
They would provide bigger beach view corridors.
They say they’ll be keeping the beachy vibe.
If you want to make a comparison, the new building is as high as the Fort Myers Beach library which is relatively close to this property. We should know when the general public will get a full viewing of the plans in the next week or so.
The next step, after the public meetings, is for Continental Hospitality Group to submit a Commercial Planned Development (CPD) to town staff for their review. The plans have not changed since the first community presentation to Chamber of Commerce members back in August.
Town staff will review the plans and make recommendations to the LPA. Once this goes through the LPA process, the Town Council will get a crack at it. If it passes with 3 votes on the council the project is approved. If everything went smoothy, applications, permits, LPA and council votes, etc. it would be 2 1/2 years before the resort opens its doors again.
The resort, which is right on the Gulf, suffered substantial damage during Hurricane Ian on September 28th, 2022. The ruined resort has not been demo’d. In fact the owners told us back in August they have no idea when the demo and cleanup will begin. They say it’s tied to whether or not they get this project approved.
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