The spectacle of growth in Estero and Bonita Springs offers a vision of constant change, whether you live there or just commute through. Growth and development occur so rapidly it's hard to keep up with all the new residential and commercial projects under way. Skeletons of new buildings seem to go up overnight. They are painted and occupied with little lapse in time. The result: two highly successful and burgeoning communities that are becoming known as destinations all their own.

Fewer than 10 years ago, Estero and Bonita Springs stood as in-between spots, defined mostly by an assortment of sparse residential developments. When it came time to find retail or services, people there mostly headed north to Fort Myers or south to Naples.

No longer. A decade later, Estero is home to some major outfits, including newly renamed Germain Arena, the ever-expanding Miromar Outlets and Florida Gulf Coast University; and Bonita Springs has incorporated as a city and boasts major employers such as Source Interlink Companies, WCI Communities and Bonita Bay Group. Estero

and Bonita Springs continue to add residents at a steady clip.

Investors have brought money and development to the areas that bridge the gap between Lee and Collier counties. With strong shopping, dining and accommodation options, it's no wonder more and more people are coming to visit and eventually relocate to these developing hot spots.

The effects of achieving primary locale status are significant. Estero land values have soared in the last decade, and for the last five years, the community's tax base has increased by 40 percent or more each year. During a similar 10-year period, Bonita Springs has led the state in new residents with household incomes of at least $150,000, according to U.S. Census figures. What's more, the city's taxable property base rose 12 percent in 2004, to $6.2 billion.

Neither Estero nor Bonita wants to grow without thought and planning in mind. Beautifully designed buildings and elegant landscaping have raised the bar for aesthetics in the two communities, and the pattern will only continue as growth presses onward.

Sometimes the two communities are clumped together as a territory or real estate market. But there are differences that distinguish Estero and Bonita from one another and surrounding municipalities. Here are a few examples.

Estero

It's hard to count all the building projects, both commercial and residential, under way in Estero. From the development of Miromar Lakes, an upscale resort lifestyle community, to the expanding shopping available at Miromar Outlets and the name change from TECO to Germain Arena, change seems to be constant.

One of the biggest plans under way locally is the Coconut Point Town Center, a regional mall to be built by the Simon Group with an expected opening date of October 2005. The 483-acre property will contain a shopping center, eventually within a 400,000-square-foot complex. The mall is expected to create 5,000 new jobs and may spawn other benefits. The developers are obligated to pay for-or provide-land and road improvements to the tune of nearly $15 million.

Meg Judge, president of the Estero Chamber of Commerce, calls the growth a tremendous boon. "Estero is an outstanding, beautiful community where there is an extreme amount of development going on," she says. "Over the next five to 10 years we'll see this community really be completed, and the result is going to be fantastic."

To that end, community activists are working to plan a large community park on 65 acres next to Estero High School that will include a recreation center, track, soccer fields and possibly indoor volleyball and basketball courts. Additionally, Judge has been in discussions with the United States Postal Service (USPS) about getting a post office in Estero. If that's approved, the Lee County School Board would donate five of the 76 acres it has purchased on Three Oaks Parkway north of Corkscrew Road to the USPS. Judge reports that officials from the Tampa regional post office have already visited the area to see the property in question, and discussions are under way. If approved, building of the Estero post office would begin in 2006.

All of these advances are proof that Estero is a rapidly developing community driving a tremendous influx of people to the area. Miromar Development has played a pivotal role. First, there's the Miromar outlet mall, which continues to expand. Company president Margaret Miller began buying property in 1994 and started building on 38 acres at the northeast corner of Corkscrew Road and I-75. New stores opened this summer and more are on the way.

Right across from the mall on Corkscrew is Miller's planned International Design Center, a 250,000-square-foot operation that will sell high-end designer furnishings, lighting fixtures, bathroom wares and kitchen appliances. Farther north on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway is Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club. About 1,800 acres of residential property surround 700 acres of freshwater lakes and a golf course. There's a spa, beach club and white sand that line two miles of shore.

"Everything with the name Miromar shows a high standard of architectural development," Judge says. "I really think that Miromar and Margaret Miller will help Estero become a shopping and resort mecca-a tourist center with high-class shopping, entertainment and amenities all in one place. When it's all said and done, we're going to have the look and feel of Naples, with our own personality and touch."

Bonita Springs

Like Estero, Bonita Springs is as much its own destination now as is Naples. No longer do Southwest Floridians and tourists drive through Bonita to get to Naples or Fort Myers. Instead, they arrive there and stay. Everything residents and tourists need can be found in the smartly developed city of Bonita Springs, and more is on the way, officials say.

"Bonita used to be the pass-through. Now our residents have some of the best choices for living, shopping and dining right here in their own community," says Nancy Keefer, president of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce.

The construction and subsequent success of the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, nestled near the midline of Estero and Bonita, put the area on the map for travelers. Now, not only are people visiting the area, but they are staying, making their homes in any number of the upscale planned communities rooted in Bonita Springs. And with that influx of residents and residential communities comes growth in other areas.

"Development in Bonita is very visible," says Keefer. "Commercial development always follows residential, and that's what we're seeing now. After the tremendous success of communities such as Bonita Bay, WCI, The Brooks and Palmira, residents moved to the area, and now commercial developers are coming in more and more."

One of the most exciting commercial development plans for Bonita is Bonita Village. The 700,000-square-foot project, located at the intersection of Bonita Beach Road and Luke Street/Vanderbilt Beach Road, will include 160 condos and about 50,000 square feet of commercial space, including restaurants, delis and shops. Occupancy is expected by late 2005.

Because many of Bonita's large tracts of land are already developed, what will come now is in-fill development. "There is a big focus on in-fill development, and we're going to start seeing a lot of redevelopment now, especially on Old 41," says Keefer. In fact, the city has spent at least $3.6 million on 17 acres of land along Old U.S. 41 since 2001, and it intends to develop those parcels into parks and a downtown area.

Other beautification projects are planned on U.S. 41, for which the city council last year earmarked $1 million for improvements, including road widening and new light fixtures similar to the ones in the historic district along McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Stephen Trudnak, a landscape architect who does a lot of work in Bonita, says he has seen much change in the city in a short time. He doesn't foresee a slowdown. "It's interesting to drive up and down U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road from time to time," he says. "Things change in as quick as a week's time. There are so many things happening. Empty spaces will eventually be built out and then the focus will turn to redevelopment."

Bonita has set a high standard for landscape and architectural beauty that must be maintained. Trudnack points to benchmark architectural and development qualities initiated by Bonita Bay, one of the region's first developers. These standards have thrived ever since. "I see a lot of high-quality development and a lot of design that fits together to create a real community personality," he says.

That attention to design is one of Bonita's hallmarks. "We're a unique community with attention to detail," Keefer says. "We're growing fast, but we still have that small-town feel and you can still run into people you know at the grocery store. We're a diverse community with something for everyone, from service workers to the rich and famous."

Trudnack agrees. "We're not Naples. We're not Fort Myers," he says. "We have our own look and identity."