London Bay, a Southwest Florida development company that already made its Fort Myers Beach presence known prior to Hurricane Ian, will be looking to remake more of Estero Island.  

London Bay bought Sandpiper Gulf Resort, a 63-unit condominium complex at 5550 Estero Blvd., for $25 million, or just less than $400,000 per unit.  

The deal closed Dec. 15, and the deed shows three transactions all involving the same address, as there were three different condominium associations. The exact sales prices listed on the deeds were $10,711,853.10, $7,825,834.97 and $6,462,311.72 for the combined amount of about $25 million.  

Justin Thibaut, CEO of LSI Companies, wasn’t involved with the transaction, but he is selling a 2.6-acre beachfront property immediately to the south, the land that used to be Lahaina Inn Resort, which was destroyed by the hurricane. Thibaut called the Sandpiper price an encouraging sign. LSI has listed the adjacent property for $29 million.  

“It’s good news, because A., it’s London Bay,” Thibaut said. “They’re well-known for delivering a Class A product. And B., I think we’re going to look back on this as a great buy after all these other projects get going. I think the prices we will see will be even higher moving forward. How many more beachfront, Gulf-front properties are there in Florida anymore? They aren’t making any more beachfront land.”  

Mark Wilson, CEO of London Bay, couldn’t be reached for comment on his plans for the future of Sandpiper.  

London Bay opened the 11-story, 58-unit Grandview at Bay Beach tower on the Estero Bay side of the beach in October, capping a $60 million construction project. The company also purchased 10 acres of land that had been the 144-room Outrigger Beach Resort, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ian, for $38.2 million.