40 acres of waterfront real estate dream will stay just that

UPDATE 8/21/24:
The Lee County Government shared this map that outlines the exact area of the preserved land.

Lee County Government

Original story:
Lee County bought a 40-acre plot of prime, waterfront, real estate on Tuesday, but not for development.

The site sits east of Moody Road and was bought for around $8 million for the Conservation 20/20 plan.

Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman Fox 4's Bella Line, this waterfront property, a developer's dream, will stay just that.

Watch Bella's full report below.

"It's 40 acres of prime real estate on the riverfront, but the best thing about this is we're going to be able to preserve it now and hopefully create public access for this space so that it'll never be built on and it'll be something that the public can use forever," said Hamman.

Conservation 20/20 has already preserved 31,000 acres of Lee County for future generations. This addition made nearby neighbors happy to see their quiet community stay peaceful.

"Developers come in here, they cut all the trees down, and they have no regard for the nature that we're losing, so I'm delighted that that's going to stay here," said Lee Bochette, a neighbor of the site.

Lee Bochette grew up in Lee County and is an avid outdoorsman. He and other neighbors told me they had some concerns for the future of this land after they watched it sit on the market for years.

"I bought this property and built this house here because look around, look at all the trees. You know, we're not in the middle of the city. That's just where I wanted to be and so that did worry me, that they would end up all built up in the condos and apartment buildings," said Bochette.

"Our kids, our neighbor's kids, all grew up, seeing the cows and the llamas the owners that originally had it," said Bernadette Nystrom, a neighbor. "It was part of the Moody family that originally owned it, and the fact that now it's going to be held on to as something that's going to continue what it originally was is going to be fantastic."

Commissioner Hamman says although Southwest Florida is growing, county commissioners are making an effort to keep the natural beauty that makes it unique.

"I've heard about the concerns. Everything's getting paved. We're going to look like Miami. We will never look like Miami, because more than 20% of the county is preserved, and we're adding more just like this piece every year," said Hamman.