Volume 4, Number 6
Issued October 2004

Edited by ECCO--the Estero Concerned Citizens Organization
For further information, to provide information or to add names to our mailing list, Email Don Eslick at doneslick@worldnet.att.net or call him at 949-4050

  November Opportunities for Citizen Participation In Protecting Estero's Quality of Life

Date	Time	Event	Location
Tuesday, November 2nd	6 p.m.	County Roadway Landscape Planning Committee and US 41 Landscaping	County Community Development Building, Third  Floor Conf. Room, 1500 Monroe St., Ft Myers
Saturday, November 6th	9 a.m.	Estero's 100th Anniversary Centennial Celebration	US 41 and Broadway
Monday, November  8th	6 p.m.	Estero Community Planning Panel consideration of Miromar Design Center Office and Hotel Complex & University Village & Block Lane Housing Project	Marsh Landing Clubhouse
Monday, November 8th	2 p.m.	Estero Civic Association Meeting with Mary Gibbs, the Director of the County Community Development Department	Pelican Sound Clubhouse
Tuesday, November 9th	6:00 p.m.	Estero Fire Rescue District Board	Estero United Methodist Church -- Founder's Hall
Wednesday, November 10th	5 p.m.	Estero Design Review Committee review of the Hampton Inn; Corkscrew Road R/O facility; Coconut Trace; Cypress Shadows projects	The Perry Room of The Estero Country Club at The Vines
Thursday, November 11th	5:30 p.m.	Estero Real Estate Review sponsored by FGCU, the Real Estate Investment Society and Select Real Estate ($45 door charge)	Hyatt Regency Coconut Point
Friday, November 12th	2 p.m.	ECCO Council of Community Leaders Meeting. These meetings are open to the public.	Marsh Landing Clubhouse
Monday, November 15th	2:30 p.m.	Circuit Court Hearing on Wal-Mart's Challenge of the Hearing Examiner's Decision regarding the Proposed Coconut Road Wal-Mart Superstore	Judge McIver's Hearing Room, 3rd Floor, Lee County Justice Center, 1700 Monroe Street, Ft. Myers
Thursday, November 18th	5:30 p.m.	Estero Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours	The Colony Golf & Country Club

Index

Page	Subject
1	Calendar
2	Estero Parkway Wal-Mart Progress Report
3	Coconut Road Wal-Mart Status Report
3	Paradise Shoppes of Estero in Camargo Trust MCP
5	Residential Growth in Estero -- 2000 through September 2004
6	Five Year Estero Housing Development Projections
6	Estero's Recent and Projected Population Growth
8	The Retail/Commercial Development of Estero
11..\communities\Pelican_Sound.htm	Roadway Progress Report
12	Progress On Approved Public Projects
12	Progress On Approved Housing Projects
13	Progress on Approved Commercial Projects

Estero Parkway Wal-Mart Progress Report

On October 18^th the Board of County Commissioners voted to approve zoning for the 228,000 square foot Wal-Mart superstore proposed for the northeast corner of US 41 and Estero Parkway. This decision culminated a process that took nearly two years. This is our 17^th monthly report on this project.

The meeting was attended by about 90 Estero residents…about two-thirds supporters of the project as negotiated and one third in opposition. The Commissioners heard about two hours of public testimony during the five hour hearing. About fifteen Estero citizens spoke in favor of the project with about four speaking against and two reading letters from opponents who could not be present.

As indicated in last month's report, traffic on US 41 and the funding and timing (concurrency) of its widening was the major issue that the Commissioners had to address. The Commissioners agreed with the Hearing Examiner and County Staff that the Wal-Mart store as conditioned by the zoning resolution was far superior to other prospective uses of the property consistent with the existing zoning.

During the course of the Hearing Commissioner Albion expressed concern about the report's recommendation that the existing zoning would be retained if the Wal-Mart option was approved and Wal-Mart did not proceed with the project. Ultimately the present owner of the property and Wal-Mart, after some consultation, agreed to remove this provision. Thus, all the conditions that the Wal-Mart Committee has negotiated with Wal-Mart will apply with equal force to any other user, or that purchaser would have to rezone the property once again. This change is of particular benefit to The Vines because of all the buffering provisions, the delivery time limitations, the private, gated access road among others.

The Commissioners discussed a variety of options for financing the widening of US 41 prior to the availability of FDOT's funding in 2008 that would provide an incentive for Wal-Mart to help. In the end they rejected such specificity and voted to approve the proposed zoning with the added condition that Wal-Mart cannot obtain a building permit from the County for the store until a construction contract for the widening of US 41 has been issued.

Thus if Wal-Mart, the State and the County do not come forward with new funding sources and the State funding is available when it is now budgeted, July 2008, Wal-Mart could not begin construction until then. As a result of this decision Wal-Mart has a big incentive to work with the State, the County and the Community to develop new funding sources for starting the widening US 41 in mid-2006 when the right-of-way and permitting will be completed.

If a new roadway funding source is found, the widening of US41 and the construction of the Wal-Mart store could begin as early as the summer of 2006.

Our thanks to Commissioners Albion, Judah and St Cerny for their support on this important project.

Coconut Road Wal-Mart Status Report

On September 9^th Wal-Mart's attorneys filed a petition in the Lee County Circuit Court seeking to overturn the Hearing Examiner's decision denying Wal-Mart the ability to develop the site with rezoning it.

Mr. Uhle, the attorney for the communities surrounding the property that are members of the ECCL Wal-Mart Committee for this store, indicates that the petition appears to be almost a verbatim restatement of Wal-Mart's closing memorandum to the Hearing Examiner. The petition does not really address, to any substantial degree, the Hearing Examiner's rationale for denying their appeal to her.

On October 7^th the Coconut Road Wal-Mart Committee met with Mr. Uhle to learn more about the Circuit Court appeal process and what role, if any, the Committee should play in the matter at this time. Mr. Uhle indicated that Wal-Mart had filed a motion to amend its petition. Attorneys for Lee County oppose this request. On November 15^th at 2:30 in the afternoon, Judge McIver will hear this issue in his hearing room on the 4^th floor of the Lee County Justice Center, 1700 Monroe Street in Ft Myers. The hearing is open to the public.

Paradise Shoppes of Estero in Camargo Trust MCP

As reported earlier this year Camargo Trust is the 83 acre parcel on the northwest corner of US 41 and Williams Road. Camargo Trust's size ranks it as Estero's fourth largest mixed use development. The 50 acre parcel at the rear of the property will be developed as the 258 unit Meadows of Estero residential community. Earlier an additional ten acres along Williams Road was developed as the Life Care Center of Estero. The remaining 33 acre commercial site along US 41 is now being called Paradise Shoppes of Estero. It will be rezoned in two pieces. The present rezoning proposal includes the 22 acres between Pelican Sound Drive and Williams Road. The remaining 11 aces north of Pelican Sound Drive along US 41 will be rezoned later. 

The developer of Paradise Shoppes of Estero, The Paradise Group of Weston, Florida, is seeking approval to develop 100,000 square feet of retail on 8 parcels ranging in size from one to eleven acres. The rezoning proposal decreases the amount of retail and the number of uses on the site while increasing the number of parcels. The original zoning authorized development of 300 dwelling units, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, and 105 hotel/motel units.

This rezoning request was first presented to the ECPP on June 14^th. The developer returned on July 12^th for further discussion with the community. Subsequently member of the ECPP met twice with the developer to seek agreement on a number of community concerns raised at the earlier meetings. On October 13^th and October 27^th Lee County Chief Hearing Examiner Diane Parker conducted the zoning hearings on this property. Several members of the ECPP and representatives of Fountain Lakes, West Bay Club and Pelican Sound testified about their concerns and the developer changes.

• The following list is a summary of the concessions made by the developer as a result of the community's involvement in this rezoning:
• · Several uses were eliminated
• Sixteen uses were restricted in a variety of ways e.g. limit the size of the building; eliminate noise producing activities; limits on the number of parcels contain the use; limits on which parcels could contain a use; specify orientation of buildings and parking; limit outdoor uses;
• Prohibit outdoor sales, storage and display except for outdoor dining;
• Increase the width of the landscape buffer along US 41;
• Require the perimeter landscaping around the entire project to be installed at the time the first project is approved;
• Include detailed Appearance Standards to be a condition of the zoning. These requirements ensure that all the buildings will have compatible Mediterranean architecture; will have an attractive and integrated pedestrian walkway system; include consistent roadway and parking lighting standards with no light intruding on adjacent properties; create some common public areas; have landscape buffered parking lots and use upgraded landscape standards.
• Limit the height of all buildings so that they are not viewed by the residences at the rear of the property;

Issues that have not been resolved but are still under discussion between the developer and the community are:

• Traffic problems on Williams Road at its intersection with US 41. The developer has commissioned his traffic engineer to create some design alternatives for addressing this problem and to discuss them with Lee County DOT and FDOT while keeping the community informed and subsequently discussing the proposed solutions with the representatives of the affected communities.
• Removal of the two billboards presently on the property. The County Attorney's office told the hearing examiner that the County may be liable for the lost economic value to the property if they were to remove the billboards by requiring their removal as part of the zoning. The BOCC has refused to accept that liability twice in the past. Thus the only practical solution is for the owner of the property to eliminate them. Removal is urgently needed in order to enhance the median landscaping plan that has been developed by the County and will be submitted soon to FDOT for their approval. Installation is expected in early 2005, when the US 41 widening is finally completed.
• The Community's desire to increase the size of some of the trees required by the Appearance Standards.
• The number of drive-throughs on the eight parcels. The developer is seeking authority for five, the ECPP would like no more than four. In response the developer has had his land planners relocate several buildings in order to hide the drive-throughs behind the buildings and to rotate  several buildings in order to improve the overall appearance of the project and better hide the waiting cars.

The Hearing Examiner's report is expected in early November and the BOCC hearing is likely during December. In the meantime Paradise Shoppes and the ECPP will continue meeting to resolve these outstanding issues.  

  

Residential Growth in Estero --
2000 through September 2004

During the last four and 3/4^th years 8,370 new housing units have been permitted in Estero. The total building value of these units exceeds $1.37 billion exclusive of the related land value.

Year	Number of Units Permitted
2000	2,088
2001	2,104
2002	1,500
2003	1,425
2004	1,253
Total	8,370

As the table shows the number of units permitted declined during 2002 and 2003 compared to Estero's peak growth years of 2000 and 2001. The primary cause of the decline is the rapid build out of Pelican Sound, Stoneybrook and The Brooks.

Pelican Sound's peak permitting period was 2000 with about 650 housing units. The project's permitting declined to about 250 in 2001 and less than 50 in 2002.

Stoneybrook's peak permitting period was 2001 with about 380 housing units. High levels of permits continued through 2002 and 2003 with about 300 and 225 housing units respectively. 

Meanwhile The Brooks peaked in 2001 with about 900 housing units permitted. Both 2000 and 2002 were very strong years for The Brooks with over 600 units permitted in each year. During 2003 and 2004 the units permitted declined greatly as shown in the following table.

Year	Number of Units Permitted
2000	686
2001	906
2002	637
2003	272
2004	139 thru August
Total	2,640

Thus the dramatic expansion of The Brooks in 2001 offset the sharp decline in Pelican Sound permits. While the decline in Brooks permitting during 2002 and 2003 fully accounted for Estero's overall permitting decline.

New Areas of Growth in 2003 and 2004

During 2003 two new developments, The Cascades and Villagio, each permitted over 250 housing units in their first year of marketing. Also in 2003 two second year projects, Colonial Oaks and the Hyatt Timeshares, added about 100 units each. Colonial Oaks permitted all its 100 housing units in just two years.

Other residential communities producing substantial residential growth during 2003 and 2004 are: Grandezza, The Colony, Lakes of Estero, Rookery Point, Estero River Estates and Bella Lago.

Finally during 2003 two new housing developments were zoned but are not expected to begin substantial construction during 2004. They are Longwood Villas (now Copper Oaks) with zoning for about 200 housing units and Marbella Estates with another 200 units. During 2004 Cypress Shadows was zoned for 550 housing units.

Five Year Estero Housing Development Projections

Each year we estimate the number of housing units that will be permitted each year for the next five years. This year's projections cover the period from 2005 through 2009.  The first step is to evaluate the growth potential of each of the 45 residential communities in Estero for the following:

• the total number of units authorized by the property's zoning;
• the total number of units that the developer has announced will be built -- typically somewhat lower than the zoned amount;
• the community's prior permitting trends, or for new communities, the trends for comparable communities;
• the stage of the community's development.

Then we estimate the number of housing units that will be permitted growth of each community for each year.

Our best estimate of the number of new housing units to be permitted in the Estero community planning area during the 2005-09 period is 7,502. Due to the volatility of housing markets we assume that the actual number of units permitted during this period will be no less than 90% of this total, or 6,752 units and no more than 110% of this total, or 8,252 units.

A total of nineteen (19) communities are expected to permit 100 or more housing units during this 5 year period. They are:

Bella Lago	Heatherstone @ Rookery Pointe	The Colony at Pelican Landing
Bella Terra	Hyatt Time Shares	The Reserve at Estero
Cascades	Marbella Estates	Village Residences @ Coconut Point
Copper Oaks	Meadows of Estero	Villagio
Costal Village	Osprey Cove	West Bay Club
Cypress Shadows	Rapallo @ Coconut Point
Grandezza	Shadow Wood at The Brooks

This research indicates that Estero can expect at least five more years of rapid residential growth comparable to that experienced during the last five years. As some existing residential communities sell-out new ones begin on the remaining vacant residential land while others continue to develop.

Estero's Recent and Projected Population Growth

The University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) estimates the population of all Florida municipalities and counties as of April 1 each year so that state funding for local governments are apportioned fairly between censuses. BEBR does not make an annual estimate for Estero because Estero is not a municipality, but they have shared with us their procedures so that we could make comparable estimates.

Using this methodology Estero's permanent (full time) population is determined by adding the April 2000 population to the product of the following multiplication: the number of new housing units built and occupied during the intervening year(s) times the occupancy rate times the average persons per household.

The 2000 census found that Estero contained 2,737 seasonal housing units, or 37.3% of all housing units. Assuming that Estero's snowbird households are the same size as its full time households (2.06), Estero's seasonal population in April 2000 was 5,638. This assumption is probably too high for seasonal households but the permanent household value is probably low, thus the total population is largely unaffected.  Estero's current snowbird population is estimated by adding 5,638 to the product of the number of new residential units built and occupied by seasonal residents during the intervening years times the average persons per household.

Using this methodology Estero's population has more than doubled (+112%) during the last four years and nine months.

Date	Permanent Population	Snowbird Population	Total Population
April 1, 2000	9,507	5,638	15,145
December 31, 2000	11,456	6,794	18,404
December 31, 2001	14,369	8,533	22,738
December 31, 2002	16,306	9,685	25,828
December 31, 2003	18,146	10,780	28,764
December 31, 2004	20,241	12,026	32,091

If Estero realizes the lower growth in housing units estimated in the prior section the community's population will increase as projected in the following table:

Date	Permanent Population	Snowbird Population	Total Population
December 31, 2005	22,276	13,237	35,335
December 31, 2006	24,310	14,447	38,580
December 31, 2007	26,344	15,657	41,824
December 31, 2008	28,056	16,675	44,554
December 31, 2009	29,767	17,693	47,283

If Estero realizes the upper growth in housing units estimated in the prior section Estero's population will increase as projected in the following table:

Date	Permanent Population	Snowbird Population	Total Population
December 31, 2005	23,148	13,755	36,726
December 31, 2006	26,054	15,484	41,361
December 31, 2007	28,960	17,213	45,996
December 31, 2008	30,241	18,082	48,326
December 31, 2009	31,882	18,951	50,655

In conclusion, Estero's population:

• Has grown by 112% since April 1, 2000
• Is projected to increase by 212% to 234% between April 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009
• Is expected to grow another 47% to 58% between December 31, 2004 and the end of 2009.

The Retail/Commercial Development of Estero

Recent History --- Until 1997 Estero had no significant commercial development, office or retail. During the last seven years the following ten commercial projects have been development in Estero:

• Walden Place
• The Brooks Grande Plaza
• Hyatt Coconut Point Resort & Spa
• Albertsons Center
• Corkscrew Village Shopping Center & Storage Facility
• Miromar Discount Shops
• Teco Arena
• Grande Oak Shopping Center
• Corkscrew Palms
• Ben Hill Griffin Eckerds

These projects and the other small ones that have been built occupy only about 12% of Estero's commercially usable property.

The Potential for Future Retail/Commercial Development --- Estero will become southwest Florida's third major regional shopping area for the following reasons:

• Estero's location midway between Ft. Myers and Naples is ideal for merchants that want to serve both customers of that area with a third store and for those merchants that want to serve customers from both cities from the middle, and
• Estero has a significant number of large vacant parcels of land suitable for large retail developments. There are 36 large parcels of property along US41 and Corkscrew Road in Estero containing 1,465 acres of land, most of which will ultimately be developed commercially.

About 500 acres of this land has been zoned commercial for many years, often by land speculators with "bubble plans" that permit a large array of retail uses, many of which are undesirable. During the last three years another 750 acres of the land has been zoned retail, commercial or mixed use, by developers with far clearer plans for how the property will be used. Another 90 acres of land is currently undergoing zoning, leaving only about 200 acres to be zoned in the future.

Recent zoning decisions indicate that Estero will have two areas of intense retail development and three smaller primarily retail development areas. The smaller areas are:

• US 41 north of Broadway to just north of Estero Parkway,
• The intersection of Estero Parkway and Three Oaks Parkway,
• Corkscrew Road between Three Oaks Parkway and Sandy Lane.

Caution: Zoning establishes the upper limits on the amount of space that can be developed on a parcel of property. Most developments do not use all of this authority. Consequently the following information somewhat overstates the amount of retail development that will actually occur in these areas.

Estero's Largest Concentration of Retail Activity will be located on US 41 between Corkscrew Road and the Bonita Springs boundary, just north of the Sanibel Steakhouse. This three mile stretch of road contains 14 properties, 13 of which are now zoned. The final property that is not zoned contains only 10 acres.

The following figures assume that the unzoned 10 acre parcel will be zoned for the average amount of commercial space per acre, or 80,000 square feet.

Zoning of these 14 parcels of land would permit the following development to be constructed in this area:

· Retail                                                2,905,000 square feet (sf)

· Office                                                895,000 square feet (sf)

· Other Commercial                              950,400 square feet (sf)

· Housing units                                     1,580

· Hotel rooms                                       1,175

The area will be anchored by the Coconut Point Town Center being developed by Oakbrook Properties and the Simon Group. However, as the following table indicates, Coconut Point will represent only about half the total development of the area.

Type of Development	Non- Coconut Point Development	Percentage of Total In the Area
Retail	1,105,000 sf	38%
Office	595,000 sf	66%
Other Commercial	950,400 sf	100%
Housing Units	380	24%
Hotel Rooms	575	49%

At present about 625,000 square feet of commercial has been constructed in this area, or about 13% of the total authorized.

Estero's Second Large Concentration of Retail Activity is now being developed around the intersection of I-75 and Corkscrew Road. This area, which extends from Three Oaks Boulevard on the west to Ben Hill Griffin on the east, contains 8 large parcels of property. Seven of the 8 parcels are now zoned, three of them in the two years. The unzoned parcel has been the object of developer interest and the estimated square footage for this parcel is based upon the preliminary plans of one of these prospective developers.

Zoning of these 8 parcels of land would permit the following development to be constructed in this area:

· Retail                                                  2,238,000 square feet (sf)

· Office                                                      30,000 square feet (sf)

· Other Commercial                                  20,000 square feet (sf)

· Hotel rooms                                                 720

At present about 495,000 square feet of commercial has been constructed in this area, or about 21% of the total authorized.

Overview and Conclusions

Now that most of Estero's commercial corridors have been zoned it is clear that Estero is beginning to experience exceptional retail and commercial growth that will continue over the next decade and beyond as it becomes the region's third shopping complex. The recent start of construction of the Coconut Point Town Center and the Miromar International Design Center, with a combined total of over 1 million square feet, is the forerunner of much more to come.

When the smaller commercial areas are added to the two regional centers described above, current and likely zoning would permit nearly 9.6 million square feet of commercial space … 6.6 million square feet of it designated as retail space; about 1.3 million square feet of office space; nearly 1.8 million square feet of other commercial uses; and about 1,900 additional hotel rooms. As previously indicated only about 12% of this capacity currently has been constructed.

The ECPP and the Estero Design Review Committee (EDRC) Estero has been actively managing this growth through:

• Obtaining County adoption of a community plan, related Land Development Code changes and overlay zoning districts designed to establish appearance standards and compatibility requirements;
• public community meetings with all developers before they file their zoning and development order applications; and
• negotiations with many developers to ensure satisfaction with the higher standards that the County has adopted for Estero.

Finally, the coming explosion of retail/commercial investment underscores the need for concurrent expansion of our road system. Thus the need for our continuing efforts to accelerate the completion of Three Oaks Parkway and US 41 as well as the construction of Sandy Lane.

Roadway Progress Report

US 41 From Corkscrew Road to San Carlos Park

On May 3^rd FDOT and Inwood Consulting Engineering met with the ECCL North US 41 Committee to discuss their preliminary plans for widening US 41 between Corkscrew Road and San Carlos Park. It was a very informative and useful meeting for the leaders of all the adjacent communities. See the May 2004 EDR for a complete summary.

We have asked FDOT when they will schedule a Public Information Workshop in the community to discuss the final design of this road segment that was due for completion during the summer.

Segments of US 41 Now Under Construction

FDOT informs us that the 6-laning of the segment from Old 41 to Corkscrew Road will be completed by the end of the year. About 6 months later the segment from Old 41 (south end) to Bonita Beach Road is expected to be completed. Finally, the segment from Bonita Beach Road north to Old 41 is planned for completion in late 2005 or early 2006.

Three Oaks Parkway Progress Report

According to press reports the design of the segment between Corkscrew Road and Alico Road is nearly complete. Four laning of this segment within a 6 lane right-of -way can begin as soon as the right-of-way and permits are obtained, sometime hopefully in early 2005. The roadway landscape money for this segment is budgeted for the 2005-06 fiscal year.

The BOCC recently approved a contract for a consultant to prepare a street lighting design plan for this road segment. This is the first County road that will be lighted from one end to the other when the road is improved. Two years ago the BOCC approved this program for the county on the basis of studies that show that comprehensive street lighting prevents accidents and saves lives.

Sandy Lane Extension

from Corkscrew Road to Pelican Colony Boulevard

On October 11^th engineers for the Coconut Point developers presented the 90% design plan for this road segment to the ECPP.  They indicated that the proposed roadway has been divided into three phases:

· Phase I from Coconut Road north to Williams Road,

· Phase II from Williams Road north to Corkscrew Road, and

· Phase III from Coconut Road south to the intersection of Pelican Colony Boulevard and US 41.

They indicated that a County Development Order for Phase I is expected within several days with groundbreaking during the week of October 18th.  Permits for Phase II, traversing the recently rezoned North Point project and adjacent to the Estero Community Park is expected in late October and that approval for Phase III should follow shortly afterwards.

In addition the traffic “roundabouts” recommended by the Panel has been incorporated into the plan at the intersections of Sandy Lane with Pelican Colony Boulevard and Williams Road. Traffic signals will be erected at the intersections of Sandy Lane & Coconut Road and Sandy Lane & Corkscrew Road. Sandy Lane will use a closed drainage system and sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of the road.

Phase 1 is expected to be completed in October 2005 with the other two phases being completed soon thereafter. This road is expected to carry about 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day, thus reducing the traffic on adjacent US 41.

The Coconut Point engineers are also working on a design for the Sandy Lane segment on their property that would connect to the Production Circle route recently approved by the Bonita Springs City Council that will ultimately directly connect to Old 41. Andy Getch of Lee DOT indicated that funding for the design of Sandy Lane north of Corkscrew Road has been budgeted for the 2008-09 fiscal year with right-of-way and permitting in the following year.

Progress on Approved
Public Projects

Estero Community Park

On October 11^th Lee County Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of County Commissioners sponsored a groundbreaking to kick-off construction of phase one of this 65 acre park. Construction is expected to start in early November when the South Florida Water Management District issues its permit.   

The land has already been staked out and the County's contractor will begin clearing the land and digging the lakes as soon as the permit is issued. Then they will begin installing infrastructure and pouring the building pads. The Park is expected to be completed in 14 months…late 2005 or early 2006.

The main entrance to the Park is located on the south side of Corkscrew Road just west of the three Mediterranean buildings recently constructed in the Corkscrew Palms project.

Koreshan State Park Awarded Grant

In late September the Koreshan State Park was awarded a $103,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to conduct research and construct new exhibits at the park. Ten of the eleven buildings in the park will house new exhibits. In addition funds will be used to improve the security in some of the buildings and to expand educational opportunities for park visitors.

Progress on Approved
Housing Projects

Rapallo at Coconut Point

Press reports indicate that 400 units were sold in Rapallo during the first six months that the project was marketed. Ground was broken for the community in August. Since then substantial site and underground utility work has been completed and an on-site sales office has been constructed and opened.

At the ground-breaking Wallace Homes announced that they have purchased additional land immediately south of Rapallo within Coconut Point on which they plan to construct another 90 homes. Rapallo is designed after a community in the Tuscany section of Italy, thus it will have a rich Italian Renaissance flavor.

Rapallo is situated between the Simon Group's 1.4 million square foot lifestyle Village, community and Lake Center and another 240,000 square foot lifestyle center to its north. This location permits the developer to create a pedestrian driven community with two miles of walking/biking paths and four pedestrian gates. The paths encourage Rapallo residents not only to walk or bike to the adjacent shopping, dining and entertainment facilities but also to Rapallo's clubhouse, sports club and learning studio.

Jim Wallace, President of Wallace Homes, believes that these design elements have been an important factor in attracting so many customers before a single home has been constructed.

Grandezza

(on Ben Hill Parkway one half mile north of Corkscrew Road)

Stock Development, developer of Grandezza, announced that during the first nine months this year 256 housing units have been sold with a total value exceeding $100 million. This represents a big increase over 2003 when only 185 units, with a total value of $50 million, were sold during the whole year.

Bella Terra

(on Corkscrew Road about 2 miles east of I-75)

U.S. Homes announced a preview of its first models on November 6^th to be followed by a Grand Opening in mid-November. Bella Terra is a 1,800 home community including single family homes, villas, townhomes and two story condos. According to press reports demand is so great that the developer will be using an internet selection period to provide a fair opportunity for 2,000 potential buyers to complete for the 70 first phase homes. U. S. Homes recently completed Stoneybrook, also on Corkscrew Road east of I-75, and will soon be initiating Osprey Cove, a multi-family project near US 41 and Estero Parkway, all in Estero.

Progress on Approved Commercial Projects

Corkscrew Palms

(on the south side of Corkscrew Road between Sandy Lane and River Ranch Road)

Site work is underway on the second phase of this office and retail project located just east of the main entrance to the forthcoming Estero Community Park. This phase will consist of four (4) two story buildings and three (3) three story buildings to complement the three (3) Mediterranean single story buildings already constructed on the site.

Wachovia Bank

On October 13^th the EDRC once again reviewed plans for a Wachovia Bank to be located on the northwest corner of Ben Hill Griffin and Corkscrew Road. The Committee members applauded the developer for their design improvements including:

• The increase in the Mediterranean style of the building and the increased detailing in the design.
• Use of larger roof tiles to give greater texture to the building.
• Change of roofline to break it up and thereby improve its appearance.
• Make several landscaping improvements.
• Additional trees to break up blank wall areas.

Hampton Inn

On October 13th Michael Bou-Sliman, the managing partner of the Hampton Inn at I-75 and Immokalee Road, once again presented his plan for a five-story, 94 room Hampton Inn hotel on the Southwest Corner of I-75 and Corkscrew Road. The proposed hotel would be located on a 2 acre outlot immediately east of Corkscrew Woodlands Drive and behind the two remaining outlots fronting on Corkscrew Road. The hotel would be buffered from the Corkscrew Woodlands community by a preserve area at the rear of the property.

As was reported last month the EDRC made numerous recommendations for improving the design of the building and the landscaping of the property. The new proposal changed the Porte Cochere by adding a pitched roof with a tile roof and some accents around the hotel's windows.

The EDRC found the new design to be too plain and inconsistent with the Mediterranean theme used throughout Estero. The developer brought his architect to this meeting and the committee encouraged him to prepare some sample sketches of changes responsive to their comments and to forward them to the architects on the committee for their review and comment prior to the November meeting of the Committee. The developer will have the architect follow this procedure and return again next month.