Fort Myers City Council unanimously agreed May 5 to accept federal disaster-recovery grant funding through Lee County, moving forward with plans to replace and revitalize city infrastructure.
After Hurricane Ian struck in September 2022, the county was awarded about $1.1 billion federal dollars through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the agreement, the money is intended to benefit low- and moderate-income families in the areas most impacted by the storm.
A portion of the funds are going toward Fort Myers projects, including building a new Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida headquarters for $19 million. The 224,009-square-foot Goodill Gateway Center will be set on 19 acres at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Watts Road and includes a community center and education facility for small business owners.
The facility also will be a storm shelter and house Goodwill’s Pathways to Opportunity adult education program. It will offer a teaching center for the developmentally disabled, administrative offices, a donation processing center and warehouse, central logistics operations and a retail store and outlet center. It is expected to generate about 400 jobs, 100 more than at Goodwill’s current facility. Construction is slated to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2028.
The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding will provide $5,704,948 for the Lee Association for Remarkable Citizens, or LARC, Inc. For more than 70 years, the organization has provided services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled, including both verbal and nonverbal people, in Fort Myers. The nonprofit provides vocational programs and life skills training, among other programs.
The money will be used to build LARC an 8,000-square-foot, disaster-resilient building at 2570 Hanson St. and harden its campus structures against wind. It will provide campus beautification improvements, including a sensory garden, reflection pond and a new pavilion. In addition, LARC will build a new 4,000-square-foot, six-bedroom residential group home that Ian destroyed.
The new building will allow LARC to expand services and provide a shelter space for up to 250 people during emergencies. The new space is projected to create 20 to 25 jobs. The improvements are expected to be completed by 2028.
Fort Myers is continuing plans to repair other sites this year, to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. At 715 Tarpon St. in East Fort Myers, Stokes Marine was awarded a contract to rebuild the old Tarpon Street Pier, used by generations of fishing enthusiasts. It also will rebuild the pier and paddle craft launch at 3061 E. Riverside Drive. Both piers were wiped out by Hurricane Ian. The construction is expected to cost $1,888,135.
The city also is spending $90,891, to be reimbursed by FEMA, for continuing restoration of the historic Rachel at the Well statue along McGregor Avenue near the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.
