SWFL NowVERIFIED NEWS. LOCAL IMPACT.83°F in Cape Coral,Sunny · Cape Coral
The Southwest Florida stories that are too local, too early or too ongoing for the evening news.
Southwest Florida International Airport's new 14-gate concourse is about two years into construction with roughly 12 to 14 months left, putting the opening around the 2027-28 holiday season, Lee Port Authority CEO Steve Hennigan said. The roughly $1 billion project comes as the airport set a record of 1.5 million passengers in March and says it is short on capacity in peak season.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
Opera Naples and partners are advancing plans for a permanent performing arts home on Bayshore Drive in East Naples, starting with an outdoor pavilion.
Source: Gulfshore Business
County workers removed dozens of NO REZONING signs posted by residents opposing a proposed 28-home development called The Woodlands at Rock Creek.
Source: Gulfshore Business
Kolter Urban has topped out The Island at West Bay Club, a 24-story condominium tower at 5100 Baybridge Blvd. inside the West Bay Club community in Estero. The building will hold 86 residences, with prices starting around $3 million, and delivery is expected in mid-2027.
Source: Gulfshore Business and 2 more
The city of Naples expects its $86.2 million beach stormwater outfall project to wrap up by May 2027, roughly a month before the June 2027 contract deadline, WINK reports. The work adds two pump stations, underground drainage and offshore pipes so eight aging discharge pipes can come off the beach, raising protection from a 5-year to a 25-year storm for about 266 acres west of U.S. 41. Construction started in October 2024.
Source: WINK News
Hendry County commissioners voted Tuesday to change 39 acres near the Caloosahatchee River in LaBelle from low- to high-density residential, clearing the way for KPH Communities' LaBelle Yacht Club Estates with about 200 RV and manufactured home sites. The low-lying land now holds storm runoff, and the county's Local Planning Agency had unanimously recommended denial over water and sewer capacity. One commissioner voted no; the needed utilities are expected in about two years.
Source: WGCU
The News-Press toured the construction site of Southwest Florida International Airport's new Concourse E on Oct. 22 and published dozens of photos of the work. The roughly $1 billion second phase of the expansion will add 14 gates, nine TSA lanes and 37,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.
Source: The News-Press and 2 more
Lee County commissioners have adopted Comprehensive Plan changes for about 82,000 acres of southeast Lee, the area that includes the Density Reduction/Groundwater Recharge lands. The News-Press reports the plan preserves about 61,000 acres and cuts nearly 5,000 potential homes while allowing up to 32 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. Environmental groups asked for more time, citing panther habitat and water supply.
Source: News-Press and 1 more
Cape Coral City Council gave final approval to the $500 million Bimini East project, a 34-acre mixed-use redevelopment around Bimini Basin with apartments, hotels, shops and a marina. The plan takes in Four Freedoms Park, which city leaders say will be relocated and redesigned, though some nearby families worry about losing the greenspace. No construction start date is set, but the agreement requires work to begin within two years.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Legacy Harbour Marina on the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers is taking boaters again after a roughly $15 million rebuild following Hurricane Ian. The 13-acre marina has 131 slips for boats from 40 to 140 feet, with stronger breakwaters and taller pilings. A soft opening came in late September, and a restaurant next door is due in December.
Source: WINK News and 3 more
HCA Florida plans to turn its freestanding emergency room on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral into a 100-bed hospital with operating rooms and a cardiac lab, a roughly $300 million project that includes about $30 million in local incentives. Construction is expected to start in 2027, with completion projected for 2029.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Curran Young Construction has started building a 7,280-square-foot amenity campus at Turnleaf, the 426-acre community off Burnt Store Road south of Punta Gorda. Plans call for a 5,500-square-foot clubhouse, pool and pickleball pavilions and a mail room for a neighborhood planned for 1,735 homes.
Source: Gulfshore Business
Tuesday, November 17
Estero's Planning, Zoning & Design Board pushed Waypoint Residential's proposal for 355 apartments on the former Regal theater site at Coconut Point to Nov. 17, at the developer's request, after a lengthy review on Oct. 20. The four-story plan is smaller than the five-story, 365-unit version the board criticized earlier this year, but still seeks a reduced amount of garage parking. Residents filed seven written comments and four spoke at the meeting, raising concerns; the Village Council will make the final decision.
Source: Village of Estero Planning and 1 more
