Here We Grow Again - February 2022 Edition

The NWNA DRC Committee has some updates to share!

Walmart, Town Center, and Seven Islands getting closer to reality

Cape Coral's Economic Development Office has put out their winter newsletter which describes development going on in the city and there's plenty of it that will interest you. Development city-wide is on fire and the Economic Development Office is finding the success many of us hoped for.

The full newsletter is below our highlighting of projects in the Northwest area that we have written about previously.

Walmart Supercenter, a 202,000 square-foot supercenter on Pine Island Road, expects to break ground in Summer 2022 and be completed in 2023.

The Seven Islands project in Northwest Cape Coral has selected a master developer and is negotiating the terms currently. A status update will be presented at a Committee of the Whole meeting in late February 2022.

Cape Coral Town Center, a 131-acre, mixed-use development on Pine Island Road, expects to break ground in late 2022. It will include medical, multi-family, retail, restaurants, and public entertainment area. The Town Center property runs along the north side of SW Pine Island Rd. from the electrical power station, east to Bubbas, and then up and behind the German American Club.

The Palms at Cape Coral is a 280 multi-family unit apartment expected to be completed by the end of 2022. This is the apartment complex going up next to the Fox News studio.

Fawcett Memorial Hospital broke ground on a 12,000 square-foot, free-standing emergency room on Pine Island Road and expects to be open in late 2022. This is across from Danny Yates Garden Center.

Lee Health purchased 57 acres on Pine Island Road for a future medical campus. Part of their purchase is the land that was destined to be an Amazon Distribution Center before the developer pulled out.

Beyond all that, check out the statistics for 2021. Wow!

Economic and Business Development Winter Newsletter

Florida's 8^th largest city was recently ranked fifth in the United States for mid-sized cities (100,000+ population) with the highest growth rates occurring between 2010-20. In that timeframe, we experienced a 30% increase in population, which is not surprising when you consider that each month we process approximately 400 single-family permits. We're happy to say that as we enter the new year in 2022, people continue to flock to Cape Coral.

City of Cape Coral Updates

The City of Cape Coral is experiencing growth and success heading

into 2022. Some of the highlights include:

• The population for Cape Coral was announced in October at 201,554, which is 30.62% higher than the City's 2011 population
• The unemployment rate dropped to 4.0 percent, remaining below the national and statewide levels
• New housing and commercial development in Cape Coral soared in 2021. New single-family and duplex residential building permits increased by 79.49% over last year, with a total estimated dollar volume of $893 million

Vacancy rates for retail, industrial, and office space remained at the low single-digit levels, 1.8 percent for retail, 1.6% for industrial, and 4.9 percent for office

On the commercial retail and multi-family end, the following developments either broke ground or were completed:  

• Aspire Apartments broke ground on a 319 multi-family unit apartment that is anticipated to open in 2023.
• Palms at Cape Coralis a 280 multi-family unit apartment expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
• Madison Square Apartments is scheduled to open an 82-unit senior apartment complex in South Cape in late 2022.
• Fawcett Memorial Hospital broke ground on a 12,000 square-foot, free-standing emergency room on Pine Island Road and expects to be open in late 2022.
• Encompass Health Rehabilitation, an 80-bed inpatient hospital, broke ground and expects to be completed in late 2022.

The Cove at 47th, a $70M mixed-use development in South Cape, expects to break ground in February 2022. This project will include 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space with a sky bar, 290 units of Multi-Family space, and a 525-space parking garage with 125 spaces for public use.

Bimini Square, a $70M mixed-use development in South Cape, hosted an Open House at Chester Street on January 26 for the public to ask questions and get to know the developer. This project will include 190 units of multi-family living space, a 625-space parking garage with 125 available for public use, 48,000 square feet of medical office for Lee Health, 3,000 square feet for Omelet House on Cape Coral Parkway, and a 7,500 square-foot waterfront Deep Lagoon Restaurant with boat slips. Roar Development answered questions regarding the development, which is expected to break ground in Summer 2022. Walmart Supercenter, a 202,000 square-foot supercenter on Pine Island Road, expects to break ground in Summer 2022 and be completed in 2023. Cape Coral Town Center, a 131-acre, mixed-use development on Pine Island Road, expects to break ground in late 2022. It will include medical, multi-family, retail, restaurants, and public entertainment area. Farmer Joe's, a 55,000 square foot, farm-fresh grocery store, opened on January 18, 2022. They have over 13,000 square feet of fresh produce, the largest fresh meat and seafood display in SWFL, fresh guacamole made on-site when you order, a sushi bar, fresh bakery, fresh deli meat and cheeses cut to order, beer and wine, fresh soaps, coffee, ice cream, and more! Lee Health has purchased 57 acres on Pine Island Road for a future medical campus, expanded services at their Surfside facility, is proposing to add 12 new ICU beds at Cape Coral Hospital, and is working to recruit more physicians to the area. Sprouts Farmers Market signed a lease to occupy 24,450 square feet of retail space (the old Staples location) located at 1780 NE Pine Island Road (next to Burlington Coat Factory). No projected opening dates have been released.

CapeCompetes Brings Potential for Performance-Based Incentives

On December 15, City Council approved CapeCompetes, a new Economic Development Incentive Fund of over two million dollars. There are five funding categories: 1.     Local Job Creation Incentive 2.     CreativeCape Arts Incentive Fund 3.     CapeCollaborates Small Business Partnership Program 4.     Business Infrastructure Grant Program 5.     Enhanced Property Value Recapture Grant All incentives are performance-based, and the project must contribute in a positive way to our community. We are currently working on the applications and processes and hope to begin accepting applications in Summer 2022.

Upcoming Development Projects

Seven Islands project in Northwest Cape Coral has selected a master developer and is negotiating the terms currently.  A status update will be presented at a Committee of the Whole meeting in last February 2022.

Office of Economic and Business Development Strategic Plan Update

The Office of Economic and Business Development will be issuing an RFP to update the City's Economic Development Strategic Plan.