Town Council Shoots Down EIBC Building

By a vote of 4-1 the Fort Myers Beach Town Council voted not to advance Estero Island Beach Club’s new building proposal to a 2nd public hearing which kills the project. Council member Karen Woodson was the lone yes vote. 

EIBC was proposing a new 10-story building to replace 2 buildings that were 2 stories and 3 stories respectively before Hurricane Ian destroyed them both. The EIBC team was pushing a view corridor to the beach as the public benefit to offset the additional height. EIBC was asking for a 117 foot building and 75 units that were 713 square feet in size. EIBC is a time-share with between 2,200 and 2,300 owners. 

The original buildings had a total of 62,000 square feet with 45,205 square feet of living space. The new building was proposed at 105,621 square feet with 53,475 square feet of living space. The EIBC team stated that nearly 70% of the additional square fottage was needed for stairs and walkways.

Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said the public benefit EIBC was proposing was not enough for him to vote yes on a 10-story building. Mayor Dan Allers did not believe what was presented to the Town Council Monday was actually what the LPA approved last month (n a 5-2 vote). The Mayor was never onboard with the size of this project and was vocal that it could have been presented with a much smaller footprint. He also questioned whether the unit sizes needed to be as big as they were which, if smaller, could have reduced the overall size of the building. 

The  meeting took a weird turn Monday when the Town Council allowed a presentation from Interior Designer Anthony Ashford, who is also an EIBC owner. Ashford claims he pitched a building design to the EIBC Board of Directors that was much smaller in size. And, he says that the EIBC HOA Board ignored his proposal. Ashford says it would have cost owners a lot less and been only 4 stories tall. EIBC’s attorney was then given a chance to cross-examine Ashford while the Town Council and a packed town hall stood by watching what looked more like an episode of Judge Judy. This is the building Ashford pitched following public comment from EIBC board member Dave Wadd who opposed the project.
If the 10-story building was approved, it would have been the tallest building built on Fort Myers Beach since incorporation back in 1995. The number one reason Fort Myers Beach incorporated was to prevent future development of high rise buildings. 

The Town Council is working through the tough process of how much additional height should be granted to developers after a devastating Hurricane destroyed so many structures and the cost to rebuild is so much more expensive than it was back in the 90’s. They are also trying to determine what constitutes public benefit in return for anything granted to a developer above and beyond what’s allowed by right. 

EIBC was not asking for more density but the height of the new building certainly attracted some negative comments from residents on the island. During their first visit to the LPA, the EIBC team presented an unflattering looking building that LPA members felt was too close to Estero Boulevard. They were sent back to the drawing board and came forward with the 10-story building backed away from Estero and they eliminated two sidewalk cuts on Estero. They simply couldn’t sell it to this Town Council.

The new building was expected to cost an estimated $34 million to build. Insurance would not come close to covering the cost so owners were expected to be hit with assessments if the building was approved. 

What’s next for EIBC and their 2200 plus owners? They could decide to go back to the drawing board and come up with another plan or they could take a vote and decide to sell the property. 

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