Knott Realty to begin work on new Fort Myers apartments

Timonium, Md.-based development firm Knott Realty Group is preparing to start work on a high-end apartment complex in Fort Myers, a little more than a year after buying a 38-acre site at 9851 Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway for $5.2 million.

Construction of the 435-unit Decorum Apartments project will be managed by Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond, from a Forum Architecture design, the construction management firm says.

In addition to Class A units, Decorum is expected to contain amenities ranging from a swimming pool to tennis courts and garages. The community also will contain walking trails, DeAngelis Diamond notes.

Knott Realty officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The company’s plans for Decorum come as Lee County’s population is surging, amid job growth and the perception that it is more affordable than neighboring Collier County and contains more amenities than does Charlotte County, to its north.

Knott is also developing Meridian Center in Fort Myers, a two-building industrial complex on 27 acres near Southwest Florida International Airport.

In all, the project — the land for which Knott paid $2.1 million — is slated to contain 350,000 square feet when completed.