‘Catch The Vision’ provides updates on projects under way
The 13th annual Cape Coral Catch the Vision provided updates on a plethora of projects under way in the Cape.
The event held at Cape Christian Church on Monday included a showcase of the ongoing development projects and provided an opportunity for small businesses to showcase with the community.
Masters of ceremony Gloria Tate and Bill Johnson Jr. led the showcase with witty banter and an introduction to the projects in the works within the community.
“For the first time in 13 years, we have developers in the room tonight, and I’m so excited about that,” said Tate. “It’s an amazing thing having all of our developers here because we will be highlighting a lot of really great projects that are coming to our city and some that are already in the works.”
“We have many projects moving forward. We are a fast-growing city, and I think tonight you’ll understand exactly why we had that designation,” Johnson said.
Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter addressed the audience, speaking about the developments and the mission the city has been working to achieve in the next several years.
“Thank you for coming out tonight,” Gunter said. “I’d like to thank Cape Christian for providing the venue, Gloria Tate and Bill Johnson, who’ve been doing this for many years, and all the volunteers behind the scenes.”
Cape Christian Pastor Corey Demel went on to give some insight about the church and the sense of community in Southwest Florida. The church has big plans to expand its courtyard, and Demel gave information about the services the church has been providing to help those in need.
“We here at Cape Christian are a microcosm of what’s happening at Cape Coral in that we have growth problems. We are growing faster than we know what to do. Hopefully, the trade show in the tent wasn’t too much of an inconvenience, but I just want to maybe throw this out there for you. We have to remind our team often that we are grateful for the problems that we have,” said Demel. “We have great city leadership, and we’re in an amazing place. As a Christian and a pastor here in our city, it is our privilege to serve our city.”
Projects in the works:
Cape Christian Church Expansion
Cape Christian is planning to expand its church with the addition of a bigger courtyard and more seating within the church. The church is planning to completely expand within the building and is offering opportunities for students.
“Our current facilities will be used for what we call Christian leadership college. And then really exciting is that we’re going to be repurposing the splash pad, renovating the whole thing, as well as adding pickleball courts. All that should be done by the time summer break hits for the students this year,” said Demel.
Paraiso at North Cape
The Perettis have been working to develop Paraiso North Cape, a commercial plaza in an underdeveloped area of north Cape Coral. Paraiso offers executive offices, retail stores, and restaurants with a deck overlooking the water. The development has been in the works for the past several years and is planned to be finished by 2025.
“Passing by that area, we noticed that there was a lot of residential housing and not that many plazas. The area could have been used for much more,” said Dario Peretti, representing Paraiso at North Cape. “This is a family-friendly environment-something modern and luxurious. We’re trying to make this paradise in that area of the North Cape.
Victory Park
Victory Park is a 138-acre master development located adjacent to the VA Health Care Center, Hope Hospice and the Army Reserves. The development will include a medical office building that will be offered to help the community with their needs.
“Phase one will be about 25% of the park and will be permanent very shortly. What that will do is feed our hotel, which is going to be on-site as well as in medical office buildings. The hotel is a Wyndham Garden Hotel, with some of the top amenities that can be offered to our community,” said Frank Nader, developer of the park. “The VA did a report in March of 2022 where they identified needs and areas of opportunity that they want to address. With this medical office and these medical office buildings, we have the opportunity to address that issue and bring clinical and nonclinical services to our community.
Civitas
The development of affordable housing is progressing. Three residential buildings with 96 units are complete, and the project is expected to be finished by late June or early July. The project has received government assistance and a lot of support from Lee County.
The Shops of Del Sol and Shops of Del Mar
The Shops of Del Mar and The Shops of Del Sol are set to bring much-needed retail and modern amenities to the community. Developers aim to add character and modern finishes to the road corridor, with a mix of retail, medical, and restaurant spaces.
“We have two projects, Shops at Del Mar and Shops at Del Sol. They’re both on the north side of Pine Island Road. Del Sol is a little bit larger with about 70,000 square feet of retail space, Del Mar has about 30,000. We expect to have a multi-use shopping plaza with modern finishes, which is what we’re here for,” said Gaston Lulinski, representing the projects.
Cape Coral Animal Shelter
The non-profit, no-kill shelter’s demand for services has increased, with 4,000 adoptions and 6,000 clients served at its affordable clinic near the William B. Austin Youth Center.
The numbers keep increasing, as many animals are unable to get the services they need. The shelter plans to massively increase its space while taking part in “Fix It Florida” a plan to help spay and neuter animals, said JoAnn Elardo, shelter board president.
An new building will cost about $8 million expansion in the works. They plan to convert the existing 8,400-square-foot building into a low-cost veterinary clinic and build a 19,000-square-foot two-story building.
Meanwhile, Executive Director Liz McCauley and her team going out and taking care of others, Elardo said.
Cape Coral Groves
The Groves is planned as a combination of restaurants, fitness centers, and entertainment for Southwest Florida.
The 130-acre mixed use project to be located along Southwest Pine Island Road is still under development as they work to prepare the water and utilities for the establishments.
The proposal is intended as an outdoor town center with open spaces, residences, retail and offices as well as a hotel.
Gilbaine Development Company Project Pine Island Road W
The Gilbaine Development Company project features a 120-room hotel, freestanding restaurant, 10,000 square feet of commercial space, and two phases of multifamily apartments that will bring 600 new units to the market.
“We’ve been designing the project for a year already. It’s at the southwest corner of Pine Island Road and Veterans Parkway,” said Daniela Rodriguez. “The first phase will start construction towards the middle of this year. The first phase will include the commercial component, the hotel, the restaurant, and the retail space, so we hope that the project can create dozens of high-paying jobs.
Lake Shadroe Marina and Resort
Lake Shadroe Marina and Resort are developing 48 airbnbs and creating waterfront dining, coffee shops, and tourist attractions for visitors.
“There, we’re going to have a waterfront restaurant with a really large tiki bar going out into the water. We’re looking forward to having live music up there in the northwest,” said Robert Knight, representing the project. “We’re looking to have a gourmet coffee shop. We’re looking to have maybe even a cigar bar up there. So, we are looking to create a whole bunch of amenities that are going to add value to that.”
BaRunch and Hooked Island Restaurants
After Hurricane Ian damaged their previous location, Hooked Island offers a variety of seafood, steaks, burgers, and appetizers. BaRunch is a new adaptation to Cape Coral, a new brunch spot that serves breakfast, lunch, and brunch items, including specialty mimosas.
“Everything we do is kind of different. We do lots of seafood. We do steaks, we do burgers. We do lots of different kinds of appetizers from all over the country,” said Kyle Sherman of Hooked Island Restaurants. “We are planning to open up at the beginning of March. If everything goes correctly, there’s always hiccups there.
“We have brunch, breakfast, lunch all day, every day. What that means for you is you can come in and try some of our specialty mimosas,” said Shelly Gentry of the restaurant at 1327 Cape Coral Parkway. “We are so happy to be a part of the community here in Cape Coral.”
Lee Health and Bimini Place
Cape Coral Hospital is expanding its emergency department, adding observation beds, and increasing the intensive care unit. Bimini Place will help people get the care they need without worrying about overcrowding.
“We’ve just completed an expansion of the emergency department at Cape Coral Hospital, adding Fast Track rooms so that patients with minor illnesses can get to the ER and get out more quickly. We’ve added observation beds there,” said Dr. Larry Antonucci, CEO of Lee Health. “We’ve added and expanded our intensive care units. April Hospital, we now have up to 34 beds in the intensive care unit. We’re very excited that we’ve expanded our dialysis program in the hospital. One of the issues that we’re grappling with not only here locally but around the country is a shortage of providers.
Bimini Place is part of the $120 million project in the South Cape that broke ground in October.
Located on Cape Coral Parkway, just west of Four Freedoms Park, Bimini Square will be home to luxury apartments, a Deep Lagoon waterfront restaurant, a Lee Health medical facility and a variety of retail shops.
Cape Coral Bridge
The process of adding two additional lanes to the Cape Coral Bridge is expected to be a long one. The plans involve preparing the permits, and construction is predicted to be completed by 2026.
“The process is a very long process. I know that’s not what people want to hear. We have to go through a planning design and environmental study to be cured. The monies necessary to build a bridge. The studies will be done in 2024, and we will start construction simultaneously in 2026,” said Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane. “From that process, it takes two years, unfortunately, to go through the building and procurement of this process, securing the funds going out to RFP to make sure it’s fair and transparent and giving people the opportunity to do exactly what they can bid for it.
The Cove at 47th
The Cove at 47th is a $103 million plan to construct 327 luxury apartments, 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail or office space, and a 585-space parking garage.
The walkable complex, at 870 S.E. 47th Terrace in the South Cape, includes plans for restaurants and eateries with Aqua Seafood and Steaks announced in December at the anchor tenant.
“We are excited to welcome our first residents in late summer of 2024,” said Katie Lepert, property manager.
7 Islands-Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina Village
The 7 Islands-Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina Village is a massive project that got its start 13 years ago when the city bought the northwest Cape site as part of a massive foreclosure land buy.
The project now coming forth from a private developer features a 240-room hotel, a lagoon pool, restaurants, retail, condos and 72 fish houses, along with uncluttered public docks, a Community Center, a public island and tons of amenities for families and residents.
“We’ve been working with four different architectural groups developing each of the different components, and we’re making sure the project is going to be an amazing project for everybody in the area, for the public, and all the people that come to visit the resort destination,” said Peter Baytarian, representing 7 Islands-Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina Village. The resort is open to everyone. All the islands are open to the public. They’re open to visitors you can come by golf cart, by car, walk by paddleboard, or by boat, we have transient slips, we have slips at all the restaurants, and we’re encouraging everyone to come and visit all the islands.”
To reach JOHNATHAN MINEHAN, please email news@breezenewspapers.com