After a flurry of activity and community meetings to show off professional renderings from commercial developers, the last few months have been quiet as those developers work through the process with town staff before getting in front of the LPA.
It was in August of 2023 when we first saw the plans for a new Myerside Boutique Hotel.
Where is that project today?
Beverly Milligan and Rolland Weinmann have owned the 1.03 acre piece of property along School Street and Estero Boulevard since 2015. Before Ian arrived, The Cottages at Myerside consisted of 7 cottages with 12 units, a pool, tiki bar and volleyball court.
Also before Ian Milligan and Weinmann were in the process of giving Myerside a much needed face-lift.
After lengthy battles with the previous Fort Myers Beach Town Manager, that bordered on a personal vendetta against them, Milligan and Weinmann received approval from the Town Council to rezone their property from Residential Conservation to Commercial Planned Development. The council approved a master concept plan that protected the existing cottages and approved hotel, retail, and restaurant uses, including the consumption of alcohol. The intent of this CPD was to create a small boutique resort which ensured the preservation of the historic cottages while legitimizing existing non-conformities.
Then Hurricane Ian came through. Only 1 of the 7 cottages is still standing.
That history brings us to their future proposed plans for the property. After Milligan and Weinmann, along with Ken Gallander from The Neighborhood Company, unveiled those plans to the community in August of 2023, the application was submitted to town staff for review in November of 2023.
“The Myerside” is a proposal for a 45-unit hotel with an additional 4 work/live dwellings and 8,500 square feet of commercial space. Under the current zoning regulations, Myerside can build up to 30 lodging units by right and is going through the CPD process to ask for more.
If approved as is, at it’s highest point, the hotel would be 4 stories which would be 45 ft high ground to roof. For a comparison on height, the library, which is across the street, sits at 60 ft high.
On January 23, 2024 town staff provided a 3-page letter deeming the application insufficient. Here are a few of the items town staff wants corrected or more information on:
Under Zoning:
– The sale or consumption of alcohol so close to the Beach School.
– The types of buffers they will construct on three sides of their property.
– The dimensions of the parking spaces, the number of ADA parking spaces and drive aisle widths.
– A revised traffic study based on a 45-unit hotel not a 42-unit hotel and based on 8,500 square feet of retail space not 10,000 square feet.
– A landscaping plan.
– The size of a dumpster.
Under Public Works:
– Details on increased utility demands from the existing project to the proposed project.
– 81 parking spaces are required and 56 are proposed.
– Where the dumpster should be located.
The Myerside team told Beach Talk Radio News they expect to have their responses to the town’s review in today and are hoping to get before the LPA in April.
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