north fort myers economy

“We’re working with the school board to expand the technical colleges, with a new location in Fort Myers and expand the public service academy so we can have more firefighting and police units,” Talmage said. “There will be a Lehigh technical college in the five-year plan.”

Among the other projects Talmage was excited about include the planned 100-acre industrial park south of Littleton Road between the two 41s When asked about the potential for softball fields, which residents have been clamoring for forever, there is still not a plan in place

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This will mean the county will need to make some serious investment in water and sewer to the area and other infrastructure improvements, Talmage said

As for the two most highly anticipated projects, Paradise Isle and Waterway Estates, Talmage didn’t say much about them, especially since the future is still up in the air for Paradise Isle

Waterway Estates, which is being used as a staging area for repair crews after the hurricane, will be leased to Safe Harbor Marinas which, in turn, will put in about $9 million of capital improvements to dressing these issues. Every day there are accidents that block everything up,” Schwinn said. “All organizations are facing that. How do we come together on infrastructure issues ”

Other issues include the lack of high-paying jobs in the area because it is so hospitality driven and what will transpire with the Hancock Bridge Square shopping center once that is torn down

For more information on the Rotary Club of North Fort Myers, visit rotarynftmyers.org or call 997-3832.

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return this parcel to its original use which included a marina with dry storage, boat slips and a waterfront restaurant

With nearly 80 people a day coming to Lee County (which is a larger growth rate than Tampa), finding a place for them to live will be a challenge in the short term. Talmage expects Lee County to have 1 million people by the end of the decade and large businesses such as Ikea are starting to look at Southwest Florida

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