On Monday the Fort Myers Beach Town Council took steps to purchase the building at 6231 Estero Boulevard for $7 million. If the town is able to close the deal, government operations could be run out of the building by January of 2025.
The 3-floor 24,000 square foot building sits at the corner of Estero Boulevard and Bahia Via. It’s a storm-hardened structure, having survived the two most recent hurricanes, including Ian. The building would need only minor alterations before the town would move in.
The finished product would include Town Council chambers on one floor with offices on another floor. The property and empty building received 2 recent appraisals, one at $5.6 million and another at $7 million.
Town Manager Andy Hyatt has to work on a plan to get town employees to the building to work, especially during season when traffic on the beach is at its peak. The building is on the southern end of the island. The Bay Oaks property and former Town Hall property were both less than a mile from the Matanzas Pass Bridge.
The town is expected to receive $8 million from the state for a new town hall. All that awaits is a signature from Governor DeSantis. The purchase of the building will be contingent on the Governor signing the budget that includes the town hall funding for the town. The next fiscal year for the state begins July 1st. The purchase will also be contingent on the owner of the building repairing the elevator, which many people on the beach know has been a major issue. Elevator parts are not falling out of Gumbo Limbo trees.
Being able to purchase the 6231 building for $7 million would be a huge financial savings for the town, not to mention get the government back in a permanent home a lot sooner than expected. Building a new building from scratch was expected to cost more than $25 million. Who knows how long it would have taken, based on construction delays many island residents can attest to.
The town is now operating out of trailers on the Bay Oaks property. They are not locked into a long-term deal for the trailers and Hyatt says there are several options available to the town regarding the trailers when they get to that point. The town is also looking into purchasing additional property close to the 6231 Estero Boulevard building for additional parking. There is a limited amount of parking under the building.
Curious… who owns that building now? Was it sold after Ian, or was it picked up by a developer?
You can look up the owner on LEEPA. Current owner bought it in 2017 for $2.3mil.
Wow! The value of real estate has tripled in 7 years! Or is it the value of the dollar has declined 70%?
That building is beautiful. Every time we pass that I always say how nice it looked even before Ian. Just architecture wise it’s pleasing. Good for the town of fort myers beach. Town council doing their due diligence to fill a need while saving dollars in the long run.
Great idea and nice to see this building being put to good use for all of us. Town government may find an additional employee pool from mid-island and South end beach residents or from Bonita.
What a fantastic idea! Kudos to the person or folks who thought about this and decided to use a building that is already standing; great work gang! Cheers
Great plan and an attractive, functional, sturdy building too! All of that and at great savings to the town and its taxpayers. That they could be operating out of the new location within a year is an unexpected surprise.