Cleveland Avenue

Vast, open spaces of cultured landscaping framing large scale shopping destinations fill the view as you drive north along U.S. 41/Cleveland Avenue, just past Boy Scout Road. You stop to buy something for the house, then hop back into the car and continue past Colonial Boulevard. Edison Mall is on your right, the focal point of the Cleveland Avenue Town Center area with tree-lined walkways, interconnected streets, and delightful parks and plazas. Those cute new shoes at the store near the mall were a great deal. Just beyond Winkler Avenue, you pick up a loaf of that artisan bread you adore at the local market. Here, shoppers greet each other with a friendly “good morning” and catch up on the community news, since they all live within blocks of the store. Then you are on your way to a wellness check-up at the medical center near the hospital, north of Hanson Street. Your clean bill of health is the reason for the bounce in your step as you meet the girls for lunch at that little family-run eatery that’s all the rage.

Welcome to the new Cleveland Avenue.

Commercial, office space, dining destinations, and residential neighborhoods seamlessly blend to make the most of fulfilling life’s necessities with a splash of fun thrown in. In addition to customers, both developers and businesses flock to Cleveland Avenue due to its excellent planning and maximized incentives available through the area’s Brownfield and Enterprise Zone designations.

The Cleveland Avenue redevelopment area, consisting of four sub-areas and created in 1998, is positioned along Cleveland Avenue, south of the Central Fort Myers redevelopment area extending to the southern City Limits. It is located south of Edison Avenue and north of the City Limits, which are just south of Boy Scout Drive.

LOCATION

The Cleveland Avenue redevelopment area, comprised of four sub-areas, is positioned along Cleveland Avenue, south of the Central Fort Myers redevelopment area extending to the southern City Limits. It is located south of Edison Avenue and north of the City Limits, which are just south of Boy Scout Drive.

Explore Interactive Redevelopment Areas Map

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.

Its boundaries are as follows:

  • Northern Boundary: Edison Avenue
  • Southern Boundary: City Limits, just south of Boy Scout Drive
  • Eastern Boundary: Roughly the north-south portion of Fowler Drive
  • Western Boundary: Just west of Deleon Street

TOTAL ACREAGE

+/- 614 Acres (Includes all four sub-areas)

REDEVELOPMENT PLANS

EXTERNAL LINKS

HISTORY AND FEATURES

The four Cleveland Avenue redevelopment sub-areas were established in 1998 for the purposes of commercial redevelopment. The boundaries for this 3.5 mile stretch of Cleveland Avenue include approximately one block on either side of the road from Edison Avenue to the City limits at Page Field.

Predominantly a commercial corridor, Cleveland Avenue serves as a major transportation corridor, carrying north-south traffic and providing connectivity for the Fort Myers-Cape Coral region. From a local perspective, Cleveland Avenue serves as a gateway to the City of Fort Myers and to the Downtown River District in particular.

After an extensive planning process that incorporated a high-level of public and stakeholder involvement, the 2010 Cleveland Avenue Plan was adopted on December 6, 2010.

The main goals of the Plan were to improve the appearance of the corridor and to encourage private investment and quality redevelopment in the corridor. Improving pedestrian safety and comfort were also identified as priorities.

On June 6, 2016, the 2010 Cleveland Avenue Redevelopment Plan – 2014 Update was adopted by City Council. In keeping with the overall goals and priority of the original 2010 Plan, the 2014 Update seeks to clarify and correct some aspects of the 2010 Cleveland Plan based on current information to further these goals and priority:

  • The 2010 Cleveland Plan contained a 5-Year Action Plan outlining proposed projects that were to be completed by 2015. The Update revises the Action Plan to provide action items for the redevelopment area’s thirty-year timespan, which lasts through 2040.
  • The long-term proposal in the 2010 Cleveland Plan to acquire 20 feet of additional right-of-way to accommodate an envisioned ultimate streetscape design is not practical, given the extent to which it would impact private property, The Update introduces an alternative concept for improvements within the existing right-of-way to attain the identified and adopted pedestrian realm improvement goals of the Plan.
  • Conditions and analysis incorporated into the Technical Memorandum supporting stormwater infrastructure improvement projects is being added to the Plan for continuity with data, analysis and public involvement that was conducted in support of the Plan,
  • The Update reflects demographic and property data accurate to 2010 or later for areas within the CRA boundaries.
  • The Update rounds out the available economic development tools available to the CRA within the four Cleveland sub-areas.