TREES TO TOWN CENTER: 130-acre development has first hearing

What now stands as trees and single-family homes, could turn into a 130-acre town center with outdoor event space, retail shopping, dining, and apartments.

"This really is going to be a destination for what people will come on a Friday to go bowling, to go eat, do an outside park event, see a concert venue, but also really good quality, anchored, retail commercial," said Jamil Lacourt, Chief Operating Officer of L&L Development.

During Wednesday's City Council meeting, the City Manager said they have an agreement with the developers the commercial space is built at the same pace as the residential development.

"The city wanted to protect that we come in there and just build multifamily, so they put these belts and suspenders to say, because we do want the commercial as well, and that's what the city and the community want, that's how we're going to really prosper here," said Lacourt

Still, there were concerns from some residents who came to the hearing about what could become a traffic nightmare.

"A bunch of kids out on the street all the time and you just concerned about that. It's unbelievable they can put an entrance way on a residential street," said David Gilbert, a concerned resident. "It's enough traffic as it is right now. I ride my bike in the morning, I got a bright shirt on all that, and there's still plenty of close calls."

However, Gilbert said he was not against the idea of having some shopping and restaurants closer to home.

Lacourt says he hears those concerns and it's something he says they are already working on for Pine Island Road and the roads people are currently using as cut-throughs.

"We take that all into consideration when we do a full traffic impact analysis, and we are doing some road improvements on Pine Island Road to turn north into our site," said Lacourt.

These pictures on the developers' website show their vision and I asked if there's anything nearby that us Cape Coral residents can compare it to.

L&L Development

L&L Development

L&L Development

"I think there's one not far from here, Mercato in Naples, but these are these vibrant like town center communities where you can come destination shop, you can eat, you can see a concert. It's really meant for community living," said Lacourt.

The final hearing is set for the August 7th city council meeting.

Construction on the project could start as early as the beginning of 2025.