Almost three years after buying Royal Palm Square and then waiting for existing leases to expire, Alessio Cos. made its first major move in transforming the 14-acre site between Colonial and Royal Palm Square boulevards in Fort Myers.

Alessio began demolishing several of the buildings for what company President Michael Alessio is calling phase one of a multiphase project that will transform the former shopping center and retail area into a walkable community with apartments, restaurants, medical space and more.

“It will include approximately 300 multifamily units, a 130-key hotel, 20,000 to 40,000 square feet of medical office and approximately 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of ground floor retail and second-story retail,” said Justin Thibaut, CEO of LSI Companies. “What that means, is that we’re going to have a lot of walkability within that community.”

Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre can remain in place through at least 2033. The buildings facing Colonial adjacent to Broadway Palm will continue to house The Salon Professional Academy and Omni Health Club until phase two begins. Omni will move into a new space as part of phase one.

“Again, this is a wellness-focused, redevelopment,” Thibaut said. “That’s going to include healthy eating and restaurants. The Omni gym will expand and occupy about 10,000 square feet within phase one.

“Right now, the Omni is there and operating. And it’s got a great base. The Omni is ready for something a little bit elevated and nice and new, and that’s where we’re heading.”

Alessio Cos. paid $12 million for the site in July 2022.

The original plan included 40 townhomes that would hit the market at more than $1 million each. That part of the plan has been swapped for medical space and an early emphasis on retail and restaurants, said Thibaut, whose real estate company will be managing the leasing efforts.

“Walkability’s the thing that really doesn’t exist outside of downtown Fort Myers,” Thibaut said. “The center point of the development is going to be an event lawn and green area. That’s going to be what ties phase one to phase two.

“High-end restaurants, daytime, evening, breakfast concepts. We’re in talks with a lot of groups there. Too early to share who and what. This project, because it’s so unique to the market — obviously we see mixed-use projects emerging throughout the U.S. Less so in the city of Fort Myers. This is a game changer for our area. It’s going to bring new brands that we’re not used to seeing. That’s on the shopping side, retail side, restaurants. It’s going to be a really exciting, wellness-focused development.”

Michael Alessio is the third of four generations carrying on the company started by James Alessio, Michael’s grandfather. Jim Alessio, Michael’s father, drove one of the demolition wrecking machines this week. Isabella Alessio, Michael’s daughter, also works for the company.

“It’s a family affair,” Michael Alessio said. “We’ve got multiple generations. We’re all happy and proud to keep it in the family.”

Alessio determined that focusing on restaurants and retail would better suit the surrounding community as the project gets going.

By the end of June, Alessio Cos. seeks to begin its permitting phase and then break ground on phase one by the end of the year or early 2026. Phase one will take 16 to 18 months to build, Alessio said. It should finish construction by summer 2027.

“As we looked into it, we found that people wanted the restaurants, the entertainment and all those things built first,” he said. “Our goal is to bring the vibrant energy back to Royal Palm. We’ve heard the history of what it did have. To bring those restaurants, to bring the entertainment. To have a living community where people can walk to the restaurant. They don’t have to get in the car and drive 20 minutes away.”