Up to $50 million earmarked for Lee Civic Center | County to schedule workshop to explore possibilities
The old Lee County Civic Center campus in North Fort Myers may see a return to its glory days.
Once a North Fort Myers icon, the county property renamed for a former commissioner dedicated to both its preservation and reformation, has been earmarked for an infusion of federal grant money.
The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to award up to $50 million in Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery funds for design and construction costs associated with improvements to Mike Greenwell Regional Park.
The grant money would be used to improve the site’s resilience and emergency response functions following major storm events.
The board also agreed to schedule a workshop to discuss what those improvements should include — and the old civic center appears to be on top of the list.
The initial concept called for a 30,000-square-foot community and agricultural education center, a covered outdoor education/event platform, three agricultural barns, a horse stable, new restrooms, parking, and gardens.
Commissioners said they would like to see a 70,000- to 80,000-square foot arena that could accommodate major events such as concerts and graduations.
The civic center, which opened in 1978, has fallen into disrepair over the past 25 years when it was not under county control. The grandstands were condemned and have been unusable since 2017.
County Commissioner Brian Hamman said the BOCC has sent direction to staff to design a bigger building than what they were showing in their concept plan.
“We’re looking for a building that resembles what’s on the site. I said at the meeting I want something that resembles an indoor arena,” Hamman said. “To use the HUD money, we have to meet the national objective and an indoor arena doesn’t meet those objectives.”
Still, Hamman said at the end of the day they’ll have a better facility for the future of the community.
“The building we have now has lived its life and we need to build something in its place that will match our growing community that one day will have more than a million residents,” Hamman said.
There was talk of an amphitheater, but that was nixed as not being sufficient for what the late commissioner and Red Sox great would have wanted.
“The amphitheater did not meet the vision Mike Greenwell had. He had a vision that was even bigger than Hertz Arena, that can host concerts, graduations and other events our community could host,” Hamman said. “We’ll go toward Mike’s vision for the arena.”
The demolition date of the old civic center is in limbo. It could take a much as a year before the building is torn down.
There are also 4-H barns and a horse arena that Hamman said they would like to do something with, since they would like to have an agricultural and educational aspect to it. The Southwest Florida Ag Expo would be a main part of that, of course.
Greenwell spent years at the Lee County Civic Center Complex as a boy and a father, and he made the Civic Center a central point during his service as a county commissioner.
At the time of his passing last October at the age of 62, Lee County Commissioners said there was no better site in the Lee County Parks & Recreation system to name in his honor.
The Civic Center site has a long and storied history in North Fort Myers since commissioners voted in 1975 to purchase the former Kickapoo Ranch and build it.
Its first building opened in 1978 and the site hosts myriad events, including the annual Southwest Florida Ag Expo.
To learn more about Mike Greenwell Regional Park, visit leeparks.org.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com