Eyes on Estero

When car-rental giant Hertz announced plans to move its global corporate headquarters from New Jersey to Estero last year, there was plenty of head scratching.

The big question: Where is Estero?

Many people in Lee County don't know the boundaries of Estero in the southern part of the county. The area north of Naples and south of Fort Myers is not incorporated, but 10,000 residents signed a petition to become a municipality like its neighbor to the south, the city of Bonita Springs.

The Hertz announcement thrust the Estero area on the global scene, making it one of the hottest areas for development in the region. Developers, residents, engineers, lawyers and a host of others packed a conference on March 12 hosted by the Urban Land Institute entitled “All Eyes on Estero.”

Panelists at the conference debated issues that promise to be contentious for years to come: road traffic, housing density, ecological impacts, health care and job creation.

For years, Estero was a farming area that separated Fort Myers and Naples. Over time, residential developers built homes and during the recent residential boom new shops and malls appeared.

Now Hertz plans to build a corporate campus on the corner of U.S. 41 and Williams Road. Hertz says it will employ 700 people in two buildings totaling 450,000 square feet. That's nearly the size of eight football fields.

Development challenges
In a sign of the challenges for businesses, Patrick Denson, a co-owner of Estero Bay Chevrolet, kicked off the ULI meeting recounting the challenges of building an auto dealership in Estero.

Denson was at the ULI meeting to receive the David Graham Award for Excellence in Development for the Chevrolet dealership on Corkscrew Road near Interstate 75.

When he received the award, Denson says it took four years to build the dealership in part because of the county requirements to rezone the property, hold neighborhood meetings, add landscaping, develop water-retention ponds and design the buildings in a Mediterranean style. Denson says the process seemed to take “a lifetime.”

Residents who moved to Estero's 38 communities want space and over a third are part-time residents. “They will fight you tooth and nail down here over density,” says Joe McHarris, a member of the Estero Design Review Committee.

One thing everyone agrees on is the need for a new hospital, which Lee Memorial has been trying to do in Estero but has been challenged by Naples Community Healthcare System to its south. Lee Memorial is appealing the state's denial for the hospital. “The demands for repair-shop health care are very substantial,” says Don Eslick, chairman emeritus of the Estero Council of Community Leaders.

Estero also has an advantage that many municipalities west of I-75 don't have: lots of land. “We've got 1,000 acres of vacant land in commercial corridors,” says Eslick. “We have lands that can be a lot more urban.”

In a report prepared for the council, Peloton Research Partners identified enough land for 3 million square feet of retail space. That's enough space to fill more than 50 football fields.

Incorporation plans
Fearful of annexation by Bonita Springs to its south, the residents of Estero petitioned the Legislature for the right to vote to incorporate in November as the Village of Estero. “It's all going to happen by the end of this year,” says Eslick.

Since 2002, Estero has had a community plan for development in coordination with Lee County. “You've got to write the codes so you get what you want done,” says McHarris.

But the challenge for Estero is that there are different visions for the community. If residents approve incorporation, those competing visions likely will emerge at town meetings.

For example, the county recently widened U.S. 41 through Estero to accommodate the growing traffic, but it's made it more challenging to create a pedestrian-friendly environment. “Adding more lanes is not congestion management,” says Stacy Revay, Collier's bike and pedestrian coordinator who was invited to speak at the ULI meeting.

McHarris suggests lowering parking requirements and allowing more units per acre in focused areas. “Sprawl is one of the worst things you can do,” he says.

But trying to persuade residents to accept an increase in units per acre will be a tough sell. “We have a sales job to do with our local residents,” concedes Neil Noethlich, a member of the Estero Council of Community Leaders.

Fact is, there's demand for smaller homes and communities with lower homeowner-association fees. “We've been hearing that from our customers,” says Michael Greenberg, regional president with Neal Communities. “People vote with their dollars.”

Estero: Strengths and constraints
California-based Peloton Research Partners recently outlined some of the opportunities and constraints for Estero. The Estero Council of Community Leaders, an organization that represents the interests of residents in the area, commissioned the study.

Strengths

Constraints