SanCap Trust helps with recovery ORGANIZATIONS TO WATCH

The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company, which has been steadily growing since 2001 when it was founded on SanibelCaptiva Islands, has expanded into Fort Myers using temporary offices following Hurricane Ian. However, permanent new offices will be established in Fort Myers this summer on Bell Tower Drive, on the southeast side of the corner of U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway.

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since we have had to overcome a lot of obstacles. The project was unanimously approved by the Town Council in 2018 but we then went through several lawsuits only to emerge in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.”

The project managed to forge ahead. Dammerman noted, “On August 13, 2021, exactly 17 years after the day that Hurricane Charley came ashore in Southwest Florida, we put a shovel in the sand and broke ground. Things were actually going really well when Hurricane Ian made a direct hit in Southwest Florida.”

He continued, “You know, the recovery is going to take a long time. Certainly we want to be a part of that recovery for the entire island. Fortunately for us, our three newly constructed buildings all held up fairly well, had no structural damage. Our fourth building was a historic building that we had preserved and renovated...that building was completely destroyed and will have to be re-built.” So cleanup began and the project slowly transitioned back into construction mode.

Dammermann stated, “I’m happy to report that we are now back to our preIan construction workforce and we continue to make progress. We are targeting late 2023 for our opening.” He continued, “When the resort is finished, it will have 254 rooms, six food and beverage outlets, a 900-person beach club with a pool, 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa, a wedding venue and a one-acre elevated terrace that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. So we believe it will be a very special place for Fort Myers Beach.”

Torgerson then shared what the two men see as the future Fort Myers Beach. “This is what we see as a forward-looking vision for Estero Island. At the time of Ian, we were already into a three- to four-decade organic re-development of the island. But one of the positive parts of Ian, is that it sped up that process. So a four-decade process is now probably down to five years plus or minus and an easier process too in that the slate is pretty much wide open.”

He continued, “Here are some things that I believe we are going to experience in a short time frame, this 5+/- year timeframe. We will all see a new ground-up barrier island beach town. A new one, activated by commercial development in quality and taste equivalent to Mercato (a high-end retail shopping development in Naples). You may be surprised.”

“All modern residential and commercial architecture,” he explained. “Demographics will be high in terms of energy level, people, wealth. That encompasses both tourists and residents. Real estate values to challenge those on a square foot basis of Naples.”

He then quietly proclaimed, “Our current or past image of being the redheaded stepchild in Southwest Florida will convert to being the jewel of Southwest Florida.

“To sum up Estero Island, it will be a Caribbean-like island with the comforts and safety you only find in the USA, no passports required. A modern luxury flipflop community, a paradise. A new gold rush is on in Southwest Florida, please come join us and participate.”

Stan Stouder, partner at CRE Consultants in Fort Myers and long-time resident of Fort Myers Beach, then shared his thoughts.

“What if I told you that you could go back 20-30 years from where you are today and you got a do-over?” he said. “But yet you were able to take back with you all of that information that your years of experience have blessed you with. Well that’s what we have on Ft. Myers Beach.”

He continued, “We have all of this experience and all of this development history and now we get what I would call a clean slate. We got a do-over. So what’s next? I believe that what’s next for Fort Myers Beach is that it will become a playground for the rich.”

“But,” he added, “what we do in the next one to three years I believe will have an echo effect in our economy for the next 30-50 years. So what we do in the next one to three years is not to be made light of. It will resonate throughout not just Lee County but all of Southwest Florida. And it will have a factor on how we thrive as a broader economic base.”

The two-story office building is 10,520 square feet with ample room for growth, allowing us to serve clients, add talent as needed and host our events. Architect Joyce Owens, owner of Architecture Joyce Owens, will complete the interior plans for the building, making it functional and inviting.

While Hurricane Ian impacted so many businesses negatively in Southwest Florida, the storm’s damage to our Sanibel-Captiva office helped expedite our plans for expansion into Fort Myers, where our client base has expanded greatly. As luck would have it, we were already underway with a new, larger office on Sanibel on Periwinkle Way to house our growing team there. Construction has continued and that office is due to open this Spring.

The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company began with a dedicated team of four people and $5 million in capital to establish our standing as a trust company in Florida. We added the Naples division in 2009 and the Tampa Bay division in 2010, creating The Naples Trust Company and The Tampa Bay Trust Company. Currently every office within the trust company footprint is either moving to larger space or remodeling to accommodate more strategic hires.

BY S. ALBERT D. HANSER Guest Columnist

Just two years ago, the company’s assets under management were at $2.4 billion. Today, The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company is one of the largest independent trust companies in Florida with more than $3.6 billion in assets under management, 50 employees and more than 400 client relationships. Along with that growth, the company’s stock price, which impacts employees through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan as well as all shareholders, has appreciated by 30 percent from the previous year.

I attribute our success to upholding the company’s motto of “Always do the right thing,” which applies to clients, employees, shareholders, and the communities we serve. We founded the company on dedicating ourselves to learning what clients truly need to reach the financial and estate planning goals for them and their families, while assuring they can count on us for sound fiduciary advice and action on their behalf.

S. Albert D. Hanser is Founder and Chairman of The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company, which currently operates in temporary offices on Summerlin Lakes Drive, Fort Myers until the permanent Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva offices open in the coming months. Contact (239) 472-8300.