Developer buys two more Fort Myers Beach landmarks

Two more Fort Myers Beach landmarks have been purchased by the hotel group that’s amassing land to build a major resort on Estero Boulevard.

The Fort Myers Beach Town Council and the Lee County Commission are planning a joint meeting next month to figure out how to handle the project.

Willmar, Minn.-based Torgerson Properties  recently purchased the Pierside Hotel from Shree Somnath for $10.9 million and the Salty Crab restaurant from Estero Beach Holdings LLC for $2 million.

Torgerson Properties CEO Tom Torgerson, who lives on Fort Myers Beach, is handling the resort project, which would straddle Estero Boulevard close to the Matanzas Pass Bridge.

But county commissioner and former town councilman Larry Kiker said the county has asked Torgerson to state how it plans to deal with the important issues: “to mitigate traffic, parking, and, first and foremost, safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.”

Kiker said that  “You have to look at it at as a once in a lifetime opportunity for Fort Myers Beach” because of the magnitude of the project.

Torgerson has spent about $26 million on a chain of properties on both sides of Estero Boulevard including the Mermaid Lounge and Helmerich Plaza.

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda, who owns the Local Color and Beach Peddler shops on the Beach, noted that the town is already undergoing a massive upgrading of public works.

“It’s going to put sidewalks on both sides of the street (Estero Boulevard) the length of the island,” which is about seven miles long, she said. “We’ll have bike lanes, trolley stops. It will make Fort Myers Beach much safer, much more appealing.”

Cereceda said she expects Torgerson to present a conceptual plan at the joint meeting, which hasn’t been scheduled but is likely to be in late November.

No matter what happens, “Not everybody’s going to be happy,” Kiker said, because whatever’s done likely will include controversial actions such as actually moving Estero Boulevard or building a parking garage to improve traffic.

Cereceda said that because of all the Torgerson project’s implications, it dwarfs anything else the Beach has on its plate.

“There is no issue more important than this project,” she said.

Connect with this reporter: @DickHogan (Twitter)