Fort Myers engages community in revitalizing McCollum Hall

Michael McCollum sat among about 40 people Sept. 30 at the Quality of Life Center in Dunbar, listening as they shared memories of McCollum Hall, the 1938 music hall and retail center developed by his grandfather, Clifford “Buck” McCollum Sr. The gathering was the first public listening session hosted by the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency, hosted just down the street from the historic hall. 

The next CRA session is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Mt. Olive AME Church in Fort Myers. An online Zoom meeting also is scheduled that day at 11:30 a.m. 

Through the sessions, CRA leaders hope to capture the community’s vision for McCollum Hall and use it as a guide to restore the building into a modern version of its glory years, a landmark of Black history once energized by commerce, community and jazz artists traveling the Chitlin’ Circuit. 

Those days ended in the early 1970s as the Art Deco building slipped into disuse and disrepair. The CRA acquired it from the McCollum family in 2008. Even though its restoration has long been a priority, a lack of funding and a failed series of public-private partnerships leave the building’s insides stripped and empty.  

In 2016, the CRA restored the outside with the help of grant money. In 2022, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural and cultural significance.  

Now its revival is gaining momentum.  

In June, Fort Myers City Council voted 4-3 to pitch in at least $4.2 million for repairs to the building. And in recent years, the CRA’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard redevelopment area trust fund has benefitted from tax growth. CRA budgets are fueled only by growth within that district, reflecting the MLK Jr. corridor’s improvements in recent years. 

“Today we have seen the trust fund grow,” said Michele Hylton-Terry, the CRA’s executive director. “… It’s been a long journey, but I tell you I have never given up on this project, and I never will. We’re going to push it across the finish line.” 

In August, the CRA dropped its latest private partner, developer Alexander Goshen, and reclaimed the project for itself. They created a new website dedicated to McCollum’s restoration. In September, they picked the Fort Myers firm Parker Mudgett Smith Architects to lead a redevelopment master plan.  

Then the listening sessions began.  

“It’s been a journey,” Michael McCollum said. “It’s a trial and tribulation process, but we’re making progress.” 

He envisioned a cafeteria-style restaurant at the new hall, the kind of place where people socialize after a Sunday church service.  

Officials, consultants, community members and others took a microphone to speak about the hall’s vital years and their wishes for its future.   

“What I remember is McCollum Hall helped keep me from being bored in the summer,” said Dunbar resident and author Lodovic Kimble, who recalled playing dominoes and cards with friends there. He envisioned an upscale restaurant and live music at the new McCollum.  

A restaurant emerged as the most popular idea, but participants also suggested retail shops, office space, a recording studio or art gallery, nearby apartments, and debated how modern the interior design should be.  

Architect Jeff Mudgett urged the audience to share their full vision for McCollum Hall. While the facade and certain elements will be preserved to meet historic guidelines, officials said the community will shape how the interior and future use of the space take form. 

“Please, think big,” Mudgett said. “And the right size project will come.” 

If you go 

What: McCollum Hall Historic Preservation and Development Listening Session 

When: 6–7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 

Where: Mt. Olive AME Church, 2160 Veronic S. Shoemaker Blvd. in Fort Myers. A virtual session will also be available via Zoom that day from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

For more information and to RSVP, click here.