Cape Coral, Crown near $500M Bimini East development deal

It takes mutual trust to partner up on a 10-year, $500 million construction project, Cape Coral officials and Crown Development Inc. President Larry Nygard agreed. 

Both sides appear to have earned that trust after months of negotiating a development agreement for Bimini East, a 34-acre planned community near the South Cape entertainment district. 

City Council on Oct. 7 reviewed the details of the agreement and scheduled a final public hearing for Oct. 21 to vote on adopting the plan. 

“[The project] absolutely requires trust in the developer,” Cape Coral City Council member Bill Steinke said. “There’s nobody I’d rather get into the deal with than Crown and [Bimini Basin Redevelopment Company LLC]. It’s a give and take, and it’s been a give and take now for months.” 

With townhomes and apartments, a marina, retail stores, medical facilities, parks and a police substation, it would be the largest project of Nygard’s career. 

“No, this is a big one,” Nygard told Council in response to a question about whether he had built projects of similar size. “To put it in proportion or scale this represents about four Bimini Square projects in terms of scope.” 

Bimini Square is Bimini East’s smaller, $125 million sister project, which sits just west of the Bimini East property on Cape Coral Parkway East. Nygard officially cut the ribbon on the property in February. 

City officials said the Bimini East proposal meets long-term economic development goals, including increasing the commercial tax base and “activating” the Bimini Basin waterfront area. The project is expected to raise surrounding property values and catalyze further residential and business development near the South Cape entertainment district. 

City staff estimate that the $500 million project will generate $750.9 million in total economic output, including business sales and activity, and add $418.8 million to the city’s economic value, or gross domestic product. 

It would support an estimated 2,218 direct jobs on-site, 591 indirect supplier and support jobs and 592 induced jobs from spending, with total worker earnings of $246.8 million. 

The agreement on the table between the city, Crown and its Florida affiliate, Bimini Basin Redevelopment Company LLC, has three key parts, according to a presentation by Assistant City Manager Mark Mason. 

First, a developer’s agreement defines the commitments shared by the city and its private-industry partner, including what will be built and the project’s public amenities. 

Second, a purchase and sale agreement defines the land deals where the project is being built. The property sits south of Cape Coral Parkway, west of Coronado Parkway and north of Victoria Drive. 

Finally, a third agreement leases Four Freedoms Park to the developer for 99 years at $1 per year, a mechanism for governments to retain ownership of a property while allowing a developer to use it. Crown plans to make additions and changes, such as a bandshell and docks. The company will take over responsibility for utilities, taxes, repairs and maintenance. 

Compared with sister development Bimini Square’s 218 residences, plans for Bimini East call for up to 900 residential units. 

It would also include 250 hotel rooms, 150,000 to 200,000 square feet of medical space, a minimum of 120,000 square feet of commercial space, a 4,000-square-foot police substation, a marina with 50 boat slips, up to four parking garages with 2,000 total spaces and a bandshell at Four Freedoms Park. 

Crown would pay $24.3 million to acquire city-owned property for the development. The company would make a $1 million security deposit, followed by proportionate payments over time as it develops each phase of Bimini East. 

The city and its Community Redevelopment Agency have offered Crown an incentive package that includes $45.75 million in tax increment rebates, which would be paid only if the project comes to fruition and generates tax revenue. 

The CRA also would fund $11 million in property acquisitions on Triton Court East and along Coronado Parkway needed to complete the project. 

At the same time, the city is offering Crown $5 million in impact fee credits at $500,000 per year. The city also would pay to demolish up to eight structures where the project is being built, but no more than $200,000 per structure. 

The developer agreed to provide nearly all the infrastructure improvements needed for the site. That includes sharing half the cost of a pedestrian promenade, a traffic signal and roundabout, streetlights and stormwater management improvements. 

The developer has the option to create an owners association or petition for a community development district to issue infrastructure bonds. 

The project provides public access to at least 50% of the marina and nearly 25% of Bimini East’s parking spaces, though the developer would probably charge for parking. 

Four Freedoms Park would remain open to the public. The developer also plans to build a 1-acre neighborhood park with tennis courts and a playground. 

Cape Coral residents at the Oct. 7 meeting and earlier meetings voiced concerns about whether the project is in the city’s best financial interests and the changes to Four Freedoms Park, which may mean relocating the park’s existing preschool and playground. 

If Council greenlights the project, Nygard said it would be phased in over a 10-year period, a timeframe he believes would best enable the project to absorb market demand. 

“We’ve tried to marry the demand with our ability to construct,” he said.