Commercial development a huge part of strategic plan
Cape Coral City Council’s long-term vision for the city includes more commercial development — lots more commercial development.
Commercial projects, in relation to other city growth, has been stagnant, at best, over the years. That’s because of decisions and priorities that didn’t always mesh with the city’s desire to bring big business here, and keep it here, according to discussion at the Cape Coral City Council workshop held Wednesday in the ballroom at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village.
Ricardo Noguera, economic development director for the city, said the average big city needs a 60-40 mix of residential to commercial to create a well-balanced tax base and allow people to live and work there.
For years, the mix in Cape Coral has been 92 percent residential.
“It’s a challenge for what we’ve been attempting to do. Places like Pine Island Road, Burnt Store Road create an environment where business is able to flourish,” Noguera said.
Currently, there will be a home built on a block and the whole block is lost because the can’t attract a commercial or industrial business, Noguera said.
“We are working closely with our staff to ensure we can reserve land to secure commercial industrial development.” Noguera said.
The city also has some disadvantages over other nearby cities. There is no direct access to I-75, has no light rail, no colleges or an airport, and its land is pre-platted more for residential.
Also, most of the main corridors, especially on Burnt Store Road, don’t have the infrastructure (sewer, water) to attract business. Noguera said the city is being proactive to address that.
“It won’t happen overnight, and while we’re trying to extend the infrastructure, we are marketing these sites for developers. It’s not ‘build it and they will come,’ we want to do this work simultaneously, where we’re expanding our infrastructure and attracting industry,” Noguera said.
Noguera said the edge the city has is the workforce — there are 200,000 people within the 120-square-mile city, which he uses as a selling point.
“I tell investors that your workers will have no more than a 15-minute commute to work. Those who want to be near their workforce will come here, such as Insight Solutions, where 90 percent of their workers live in the Cape,” Noguera said, adding that many companies are leaving the Midwest and Northeast to come here.
City Manager Rob Hernandez said that while commercial is important, continued residential growth is also important.
“Once we go in and invest in infrastructure, whether it’s water, sewer and irrigation or sidewalks, it has an explosive effect on residential also, and has an impact on all economic development, not just commercial,” Hernandez said.
In other business, the city council got an update on the start of the state legislative session and also discussed Mayor John Gunter’s proposal for a code of conduct for members of the city council.
Gunter said that city council must live up to the same standards as the city’s regular employees, who have a code of conduct already in place.
“I think we need a code of conduct similar to the employees. We set the standard as a council, so we need the same type of standard as the employees do,” Gunter said.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com