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Friday, Sept. 3
FORT MYERS SHOPPING CENTER CHANGES HANDS
Arbor Towne Square, at the corner of Treeline Avenue and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, sold for $5.1 million. In 2017, Seagate Development Group’s affiliate purchased the shopping center for $2.6 million, property records show. The 30,000-square-foot center has a Goodwill, Allstate, Domino’s Pizza, Walgreen’s and Pinch-A-Penny. Trinity Commercial Group’s Tim Schneider brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, while his colleague, Matthew Fredrickson, represented the buyer, Arbor Lin LLC. “This center was a great opportunity for redevelopment when we purchased it,” said Matt Price, CEO & Partner at Seagate Development Group. “Arbor Towne Square has direct access to I-75 and is in a prime location. Thousands of people pass this site every day and rely on tenants’ services. We are more than pleased with the product and look forward to the continued success of the project.”
Thursday, Sept. 2
LEE HEALTH STARTS NEW IN-HOME CARE PARTNERSHIP
Lee Health recently initiated a new partnership with DispatchHealth, a leading provider of in-home medical care. Through the partnership, patients in Southwest Florida have a convenient way to receive medical care in the comfort of their homes. DispatchHealth provides in-home medical care for a wide range of common to complex injuries and illnesses including viral infections, COPD exacerbations, congestive heart failure and more. Expertly trained medical teams typically arrive at the patient’s home within a few hours of being requested, equipped with the necessary tools and treatments, including on-site diagnostics. No referral is needed for patients to request care via phone or by visiting DispatchHealth’s mobile app or website.
Wednesday, Sept. 1
LEE COUNTY KEEPS ROLLING OUT ROUNDABOUTS
At Gateway Boulevard and Commerce Lakes Drive, Lee County commissioner Cecil Pendergrass led a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the newest one, which cost $2.8 million. Another one should break ground in early 2022 about a half-mile north, at Gateway Boulevard and Griffin Drive. “This came together three years ago,” Pendegrass said. “We noticed a lot of accidents in this area. We had to do something.” Over a three-year span, that intersection, which had been built about 1990 with a two-way stop sign for east-west traffic and continuous flow for north-south traffic, saw 68 accidents with 19 injuries. Every intersection gets due diligence, evaluating and reevaluating by the county department of transportation, said director Randy Cerchie. He helps determine if an intersection will have a two- or four-way stop sign, a traffic signal or a roundabout. In this case, the county said having a roundabout saved about 50 trees from being removed, as traffic signals require about 800 feet of removal for visibility purposes. Wright Construction completed the project 109 days ahead of schedule. Full the full story, click here.
Tuesday, Aug. 31
Video courtesy of WINK News
FLORIDA HAS RECORD NUMBER OF JOB OPENINGS
Florida has more jobs looking for people than people looking for jobs in a state expected to have the 10th largest economy in the world within the next decade. A recent study by the Florida Chamber of Commerce of the skills gap versus opportunities in the workforce found sales, consumer services, health care and finance roles are the most in need of employees at this time in the area. “We’ve got more open jobs than we have people looking for jobs,” says Jerry Parrish, chief economist with the Florida Chamber Foundation. “Therefore, that means a lot of opportunities out there. Who’s got those skills to get those or will get those skills to take those jobs?” A record number of 500,000 jobs are open in Florida and 40 counties have more job openings now than they did before COVID-19, WINK News reports.
Monday, Aug. 30
Buc-ee’s
BUC-EE’S CANCELS PLANS FOR HUGE GAS STATION/STORE IN FORT MYERS
Buc-ee’s, a gas station with a cult following because of its eclectic mix of merchandise, snacks and clean bathrooms, has pulled out of its plans for a store in Fort Myers. “Sometimes projects fall through,” says Jeff Nadalo, a Buc-ee’s spokesperson. “It’s part of being in real estate development.” In August 2017, Buc-ee’s purchased the 158-acre site off the eastern end of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and just west of Interstate 75 for a 120-pump station, but put the land back on the market several months ago. The proposed Fort Myers location would have posed logistical issues for motorists. “The on-site economics were substantially higher than originally anticipated,” Nadalo says. “We’re looking for sites throughout the state.” To read the full story, click here.
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