Estero planners again balk at Coconut Point apartment plan  

A Regal movie theater at Coconut Point mall in Estero has become a relic of a bygone era. 

It closed in November 2022. 

Now, mall owner Simon Property Group and its development partner Waypoint Residential want to tear down the abandoned cineplex and replace it with the next hot ticket: a 355-unit, four-story apartment complex that offers “live, work, play” convenience for young professionals. 

“The malls that are surviving and thriving in our current environment are focused on adding live-work-play environments to their shopping centers,” said Simon Vice President of Development Bill Moston at an Oct. 20 public hearing before the Estero Planning, Zoning & Design Board. “That’s what’s happening around the country with the malls that are not dying.” 

But while board members said they like the concept of multifamily apartments, they continued to criticize the project’s density, height, parking layout and other features. 

At the Oct. 20 meeting, they voted unanimously to grant the developers a continuance to revise the plan rather than recommend approval or denial to Village Council. 

A second public hearing before the Planning Board is scheduled for Nov. 17. The board will then get another chance to decide whether to recommend the project to Village Council, which has the final vote on whether the project moves forward. 

The Planning Board’s recommendation is based on whether the project meets Estero’s land development code and comprehensive plan, not necessarily members’ opinions on architectural or other details. 

The developers first presented the project to the Planning Board at an informational meeting in January and again at a workshop in March. 

Despite changes to the project, including cutting 10 units, reducing the height from five to four stories and adjusting the parking and building layouts, board members raised familiar criticisms. 

That included its high density, with 355 units on 6.85 acres. 

“It appears that the designer designed it to the maximum limits of the site,” board member Al Paivandy said. 

The developer also adjusted the location of a parking garage to give potential residents closer access to their apartments. But the garage had only one entrance and exit, a sticking point for board members who voiced concerns about traffic backups. 

Residents shared concerns about traffic at the garage entrance and around the property. 

Allan Bowditch, president of the nonprofit community advocacy group Engage Estero, said the project’s target renters would often have to drive to and from work, unlike area retirees. 

“So, I start to question the issues related to the number of cars required on that site and also the number of visitations there will be at the peak hours of travel,” he said. 

Transportation consultant Ted Treesh testified at the hearing that one garage entrance is “more than sufficient” for the site and that the apartment complex would generate fewer vehicle trips during peak hours than a movie theater. 

Board members also complained that there was not enough green space surrounding the buildings relative to their height. 

But some approved of the overall concept, which they believe could be a financially viable replacement for the old cinema. 

“I think it’s a perfect use for something that has died,” board member Jim Tatooles said. 

Waypoint Residential Managing Director of Florida Development Chris Moore pointed to a company-funded analysis of housing demand by John Burns Research and Consulting. Moore declined to share the report publicly but discussed its findings at the hearing. 

It showed demand for the live-work-play concept, he said, aimed at younger professionals who could qualify for rents of about $2,300 or $2,400 per month with annual incomes in the mid-$80,000 range. 

“You may say there’s a lot of residential coming online but all that’s being absorbed right now and the units we would deliver here won’t come on until 2029, so everything you see done now will be absorbed,” Moore said.