It’s going to be extremely hard for the Fort Myers Beach Town Council to ignore the LPA’s recommendation to deny Terry Persaud’s 50-unit 5-story hotel in Times Square. The denial was unanimous, emphatic and unambiguous.
When LPA Chair Anita Cereceda asked Persaud if he planned to take his proposal to the Town Council anyway, which is his right to do, he wouldn’t answer. It was obvious LPA members wanted to send a clear message to the Town Council that there wasn’t a single positive they could take away from Persaud’s proposal.
LPA members shot down the height of the building, the Floor Area Ratio (2.5), the equivalency factor Persaud needed to use to come up with 50 hotel rooms, and his lack of any public benefit in return for such a big ask.
By right, Times Square property owners can build up to 3 stories, 1st floor below flood of 20’, 15’ above grade, and two more stories on top for an additional 30 feet. Persaud’s proposal was 5 stories and 65’ to 70’ above grade on .5 acres of buildable land. He originally asked for 8 deviations from the Land Development Code but dropped that down to 6 on the fly during the LPA meeting.
Persaud’s proposal was negotiated with town staff in a Development Agreement, a process the town adopted after Hurricane Ian with a goal of helping the “mom and pop” business cut through the red tape and extra filing fees to build back quicker. However, LPA Member Jim Dunlap questioned Town Planner Sara Probst, asking her if, in fact, the proposal was negotiated. She acknowledged it was not. So far only Persaud and Seagate have used the Development Agreement process. Both LPA Chair Cereceda and Mayor Dan Allers believe that process needs to be looked at again.
During negotiations, Persaud and town staff could not come to an agreement on whether the project would benefit the community. It was sent on to the LPA, without a staff recommendation, where it was soundly rejected this week.
The public benefit Persaud put on the table was a bike rack, a paved pathway to the beach, a rooftop bar, retail space, and an unknown amount of money for Persaud’s properties prorate share of replacing pavers in Times Square.
When LPA member Jim Dunlap asked Persaud to commit to covering the cost of all the pavers in Times Square or paying for a protective seawall and working with property owners himself to get reimbursed as real public benefit, Persaud didn’t bite. When LPA Chair Anita Cereceda asked Persaud if he would consider donating the Dairy Queen property on the other end of Times Square as a possible public benefit, Persaud didn’t bite.
LPA member John McClain said Persaud “had pushed the envelope in every possible way.” LPA member James Boan said “this is beyond anything we’ve ever had to deal with. The public benefits are all hotel amenities. I don’t see any offset of public benefits to justify the ask.”
During public comment Buffalo Grill owner Fred Mallone, a big Persaud supporter, accused Margaritaville CEO Tom Torgerson of opposing the project because he said Persaud would be competition to his business. That was shortly after Torgerson, also during public comment, applauded and supported the new Arches project (263 hotel rooms) at Moss Marina and the additional hotel rooms and upgrades being made to The Lighthouse growing it to 130 units. Both projects are within walking distance of Margaritaville. Torgerson said Persaud’s project was just the wrong project in the wrong location.
Persaud’s biggest argument for the project was that building this hotel was the only way people were going to return to Times Square. That did not move the needle at all with all 7 LPA members. When it was clear to LPA members Persaud was not going back to the drawing board and might be going over their heads to the Town Council they made sure the denial motion was all inclusive: the height, the FAR and the hotel equivalency with uncompelling justifications and incompatible with the Comprehensive Plan and no public benefit.
The vote was unanimous.
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