Central Fort Myers

The Central Fort Myers redevelopment area was created in 1990 to improve the neighborhood by eliminating blight, and to assemble land to build the City of Palms Park baseball stadium, which was used as the Red Sox spring training facility for many years. Most of the stadium’s land assembly was soon finished, and since a significant amount of the Central Fort Myers area was publicly owned and not on tax rolls, this redevelopment area did not generate tax increment revenue for most of its life.

The area is coming to life, however, with the adoption of the Midtown Vision Plan, an integrated redevelopment strategy for the area of Fort Myers just south of the Downtown core. Midtown combines the southern portion of the Downtown redevelopment area with the Central Fort Myers redevelopment area.

The Central Fort Myers redevelopment area is positioned south of the Downtown redevelopment area. It is located south of Victoria Avenue and west of Forrest Street and includes a portion of Cleveland Avenue.

LOCATION

The Central Fort Myers redevelopment area is positioned south of the Downtown redevelopment area. It is located south of Victoria Avenue and west of Forrest Street and includes a portion of Cleveland Avenue.

Please note that all of Fort Myers’ redevelopment areas have irregular borders; the boundaries stated below extend to the outermost limit of the redevelopment area.

Explore Interactive Redevelopment Areas Map

Its boundaries are as follows:

  • Northern Boundary: Victoria Avenue
  • Southern Boundary: Willard Street
  • Eastern Boundary: Fowler Street
  • Western Boundary: Forrest Street

TOTAL ACREAGE

+/- 134 Acres

REDEVELOPMENT PLANS

HISTORY AND FEATURES

The Central Fort Myers redevelopment area was created in 1990 to eliminate blight and to assemble land to construct the Red Sox spring training stadium, City of Palms Park. A significant amount of the stadium’s land assembly was completed a short time later. Since the stadium and surrounding grass parking lots, adjacent State of Florida Regional Service Center parking garage, Skatium and Skate (board) Park are publicly owned and not on the tax rolls, this district did not generate tax increment revenue for most of its life.

The area is coming to life, however, with the adoption of the Midtown Vision Plan, an integrated redevelopment strategy for the area of Fort Myers just south of the Downtown core. Midtown combines the southern portion of the Downtown redevelopment area with the entire Central Fort Myers redevelopment area.

The Midtown Vision Plan is intended to serve as a shared community vision for transforming this part of the city into a vibrant, new, diverse, mixed-use destination. Priorities for Midtown are as follows:

  • Maximize the potential for mixed-use development in Midtown
  • Plan for a range of new housing options
  • Create opportunities for sustained commercial viability
  • Create street conditions that are safe for bicyclists and walkable for pedestrians
  • Introduce a range of new public realm and open space fea­tures
  • Plan for “smart infrastructure”
  • Incorporate sustainable and resilient measures where possible
  • Create a discernible sense of place that will appeal to all city residents and visitors alike

MIDTOWN VISION PLAN

Visit the Midtown Project website.

The Midtown Vision Plan: Downtown Fort Myers Integrated Redevelopment Strategy was a multi-year effort to engage the community in crafting a vision for the City, its Downtown and the new Midtown. The 243-acre Midtown area was the intense focus of the City’s planning and visioning efforts. The City explored in depth how the new proposed Midtown area will accommodate smart growth, more housing options, and enhanced economic opportunities for the City and its citizens.

Midtown Vision Plan