Development Review Committee (DRC)

Chairman: John Smart

Email: drc@nwcape.com

Responsible for:

• Future land use and zoning issues

• Residential and commercial development

Here we Grow April 2024

Is the Third time the charm for these three?

Development plans are like flowers in a garden.  Sometimes they take root and grow and sometimes they just wither on the vine and fade away.

Walmart Super Center

The Walmart Super Center is back with a plan for a Super Center on SW Pine Island for the third time after having submitted one in 2014 and 2021.  At the end of February, Walmart had requested a pre-application meeting with Cape Coral’s development Office to discuss the building of a Supercenter on the south side of SW Pine Island Rd. across the road from Bubbas.   This most recent plan calls for a Supercenter, a liquor store and 10 fuel pumps.  Hopefully, the third time is the charm and we get a Walmart Supercenter in our area.  The city and Walmart meet in April to discuss the plan.  With all the residential growth heading to our area, it only makes sense for Walmart to cash in. So, the time is right.

Chiquita and Pine Island Rd.

The northwest corner of Chiquita and Pine Island Rd. has seen its share of plans but not much that came of them.  At one point, the corner was going to be the home of several fast-food restaurants and a gas station.  Then, it was going to be home to a Wawa.  Now, a site development plan has been submitted for an 897-unit apartment complex called Chiquita Falls. It would surround a lake.  How can someone build that many apartments on Pine Island Rd. when the number of units is restricted due to the Pine Island Rd. District?  The lone exception to PIRD limits for now is the construction of affordable housing units.  Chiquita Falls is doing that and will have to provide at least 40% of their units as affordable housing in accordance with the  “Live Local” Act under which they are applying.  That means just under 360 “affordable” apartments which would be available to those who meet income restrictions.  The remainder would be market-based. There is some type of grocery store planned for the portion of land along Pine Island Rd. but that is in the pre-application phase and will take some time to develop.

In the same vein, a pre-application request was submitted for a 200-unit apartment complex on the area east of Walgreens and North of Burnt Store Tavern at the Coral Shores Shopping Center.  This too comes under the “Live Local” Act and will feature workforce housing.  This is the third apartment application at that location in the last decade.  The others never happened but this time may be different. 

Behind this project is 3rd Wave Development, a national company, which has been building apartments all along the income scale from luxury to workforce housing for over a decade.  They concentrate on building close to restaurants, grocery stores, and other places of convenience.

Unlike the two apartment complexes just mentioned, the 96-unit Civitas affordable housing complex is nearing completion on the west side of Sam’s Club. Should it be joined by the two, there would be over 530 new housing units on the market in the next few years that would allow seniors, lower-wage workers, and public sector employees to find affordable places to live.

For those worried about lower-cost housing coming to our area, there will be 7,000 to 8,000 luxury apartments standing tall between Burnt Store Rd. and Santa Barbara over the next several years. Not to mention about 800 just east of Santa Barbara.  For instance, Civitas will be standing within a short stroll of The Club, a 195-unit Luxury Apartment complex.  Both will open in 2024.

Civitas Housing Project