Paradise Isle project hearing set
After numerous delays, the long-awaited Paradise Isle development will go before a hearing examiner next week.
The hearing examiner will hear from county staff and the developers of the planned riverfront resort project on Wednesday and Thursday, June 10, 11, with time on June 12, if necessary, at the Board of County Commissioners Chambers at 2120 Main St. in Fort Myers.
Paradise Isle is considered to be a game changer for North Fort Myers.
Paradise Isle is being planned as a mixed-use luxury resort along the Caloosahatchee, with homes, a marina, office space, a renewed golf course and much more.
The 271-acre project is expected to include 543 luxury hotel rooms, two 20-story residential towers overlooking the river, a refurbished 18-hole golf course, two 12-story towers adjacent to the golf course, three-story townhouses, a marina with 200 wet slips and 200 dry boat storage slips, 600 multi-family homes, a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, a riverfront boardwalk, open space, and walking paths.
The cost of the development, which would bring back the old Lochmoor golf course, could run over $1 billion.
At public workshops, the project has received strong support, including from those who live nearby, believing this is a project that is long overdue for North Fort Myers and that it will improve property values and revitalize the area.
However, there were some who have concerns about what they believe would be the loss of their quiet neighborhood.
The public will be able to speak Thursday, after which the HEX will make her recommendation before it goes before the BOCC for consideration.
Only those who gave public input at the HEX hearing can speak at the county commission meeting.
The HEX hearing has been put off several times. The hearing was set for March 25 and 27, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic.
The Lee County Hearing Examiners Office is an independent reviewer of Lee County’s regulation of land development and land use.
In requests for rezoning, the Hearing Examiner provides a recommendation to Board of County Commissioners, which holds a second hearing and makes the final decision on whether to approve the request.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. each day.