Southwest Florida and the Twenty-First Century

In 1850 Fort Myers was a small military fort situated along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. It wasn't until some fifteen years later that the first four settlers arrived.

By 1878 agriculture and cattle ranching had transformed the tiny town into a city of approximately 300 people. Roads actually were Indian trails and cow paths, and most would agree that the city's easiest access was the waterways.

Today there are several main factors making Southwest Florida accessible and contributing to its tremendous growth (there are nearly three-quarters of a million people residing in the area), including its convenient location, Florida Gulf Coast University, the Midpoint Corridor, Southwest Florida International Airport, and the Economic Development offices of each county.

Location, Location, Location

Southwest Florida opened up in a number of ways with the completion of Interstate 75. A direct route from the Midwest to the west coast of Florida now exists, along with Alligator Alley from the southeast coast of the state to the southwest coast. This allows migration from tourists, residents, and industries to flow into Southwest Florida.

A benefit for industry is that Lee County is located halfway between Tampa and Miami along I-75. In fact, both cities are almost 130 miles in either direction. Companies wanting to service both markets find it a natural destination. As industrial space becomes scarcer and more expensive in areas such as Miami, Southwest Florida will emerge as a stronger distribution center.

I-75 is the county's second north/south roadway with U.S. 41 being the other. The problem with this is that with increasing population and increasing traffic burdens, two north/south corridors are not enough. Some relief will be felt when Metro Parkway is extended. The planned southward extension would extend Metro Parkway from its present end at Six Mile Cypress Parkway through to Alico Road, just east of U.S. 41. However, this isn't expected to happen until after 2000.

Another road project that will have a heavy impact on the area is the Treeline Avenue planned extension. Currently the road only services Florida Gulf Coast University and stretches from Corkscrew Road north to Alico Road. Over the next few decades there are plans that will extend the avenue north to Buckingham Road, making it a main access road for the area.

Residents in the eastern part of the county in developments such as Three Oaks and Gateway use I-75 as a commuter road, which also has planned future improvements. Among them are improving interchanges at Alico and Corkscrew roads and improving entrances to both Florida Gulf Coast University and Southwest Florida International Airport.

The area needs more north/south roadways to handle its traffic burden. Currently, more than 75,000 cars per day travel through the intersection of U.S. 41 and Colonial Boulevard. As the area grows, it is inevitable that the traffic numbers will also increase.

Florida Gulf Coast University

The university, which opened August 25, 1997, will bring with it a need for both affordable housing-aimed at students-and mid- to upper-end housing-aimed at university facility and staff. However, with initial enrollment at 2,500 that is expected to slowly increase to the projected 10,000, there won't be a sizable impact felt in the residential market for some time. In fact, the law of supply and demand will come into play and because the demand for housing will increase at a slow rate, the market will have time to adequately produce the supply.

The university is having a positive effect on business in the area. Large corporations offering high-wage jobs recognize that FGCU provides the region with an educated work force as well as continuing educational opportunities, especially in areas of technology.

FGCU has aided in the development of the Regional Economic Development Coalition. The Coalition works with the counties of the area to promote Southwest Florida as a whole. FGCU, in conjunction with Edison Community College and the Horizon Council, a public/private advisory board, has developed eighteen small-business assistance topics and will hold educational seminars on several of those topics.

The Midpoint Corridor

After decades of controversy and planning, the Midpoint Bridge opened in October. The extreme west of the county-Cape Coral-is now directly connected to the extreme east-Lehigh Acres-via Colonial Boulevard.

The corridor, consisting of a massive 7,200-foot bridge, three overpasses and a newly widened, six-lane Colonial Boulevard will ease current traffic burdens on other heavily traveled roadways. Because of its central location with access to all areas of the county, Colonial Boulevard is an area that is drawing the interest of many regional and local companies.

This direct route links the workplace with the work force, as most of the county's jobs are found along U.S. 41, Fowler Street and Metro Parkway. Most of the labor force reside in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres.

Southwest Florida International Airport

Southwest Florida International Airport recently received foreign trade zone status and has been predicted to be the nation's fastest-growing airport in terms of flights and the eighth-fastest growing in terms of passengers by the year 2008. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that within 13 years, 300 planes per day will be landing and taking off from the airport.

Besides the obvious benefits to tourism, corporations view the airport as a strong commodity for the area. Not only can the flights transport people but also cargo. Federal Express and United Parcel Service both operate regional bases out of the airport. With cities like Miami and Orlando becoming more congested and overcrowded, Southwest Florida is now an attractive alternative. By 2005, a second air terminal should be erected and by 2010, a second set of runways should be constructed.

Southwest Florida Economic Development Efforts

Perhaps the biggest contributing factors to actually bringing new companies into the area are the Economic Development Office of Lee County (EDO) and the Economic Development Council of Collier County (EDC). These organizations work to retain and expand existing companies and recruit new high-wage, quality jobs to Southwest Florida.

The efforts of these organizations are helping to provide the much needed diversification in the area's economy. In 1996, the EDO had contacted 24 major prospects. By April 1997 that number was already up to 32.

A local industrial and commercial property inventory placed on the Internet called Commrex is a collaboration between the Southwest Florida Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIM) chapter and the EDO.

Another recent success for the EDO is the location of LYNX Services, a division of PPG Industries, in North Fort Myers. The national insurance claims service center emp