Fort Myers targets Cleveland Avenue

Cleveland Avenue, the stretch of U.S. 41 that is one of the gateways to downtown Fort Myers, is lined with properties in decline.

But Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, a longtime real estate developer in town, says the city is working hard to push redevelopment of the Cleveland Avenue corridor from downtown south to Boy Scout Boulevard.

Among other incentives, the city is providing $50,000 to $100,000 in tax rebates and grants to developers to improve properties along that corridor. “This is a big deal,” Henderson told a gathering of the Real Estate Investment Society recently. “We have the resources to offer incentives,” he says.

In addition, the city is planning to build a series of storm water ponds along the corridor that will save property owners from having to set aside land and pay for that expense.