March 28, 2024

Moving Inland

Interior Motive

High-end developers are targeting Florida's interior as land prices escalate along the state's edges.

Amy Keller | 7/1/2006

Bonita Bay Group's largest project in the area is on 5,200 acres west of SR 29 and south of SR 80 in LaBelle. It is jointly developing the property with the Bryan Paul family, owners and operators of several citrus companies. Government approvals for the development include up to 15,800 residential units, 1 million square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of office space and 350,000 square feet of industrial space. Another 300 acres have been set aside for institutional uses, including a parcel of about 100 acres that will house a campus for Edison College.

LaBelle Mayor and Hendry County Public Safety Director Randy Bengston sees an expanded tax base and improved choices for shopping and entertainment. The town could use a movie theater. Local resident Nancy Hendrickson is looking forward to the riverfront restaurant that Bonita Bay Group is planning around the corner from her house near the Barron property and wonders if the company might not also be willing to build a playground on some portion of the property they've acquired in the city.

Residents are also worried, however -- about the added burdens the new development will bring and whether the rural area can keep up. SR 80 is in the midst of being widened, but other routes in and around the city need expanding, and bridges in the area need repairs. Water is also a big concern. As the county is hammering out details for a new water treatment plant for nearby communities and the new developments proposed by Bonita Bay Group, other developers north of the Caloosahatchee have begun clamoring for county sewer lines. "When you buy a house, whether you're a new retiree or looking for a second house or third house, they expect certain things. They expect the infrastructure to be there. They expect a sewer system. They expect public safety. Right now in LaBelle it's a volunteer fire service," says Bengston.

Equally important, residents and developers agree, is ensuring that LaBelle and other rural towns will retain some of their character. "We don't want to be like the skyscrapers, but we don't want to be the bedroom community of Fort Myers either," says Bengston. "We're going to be replaced one way or another. We know it's coming. Can we more or less make it what the people want?"

Tags: Southwest, Housing/Construction

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