Cape Coral's Del Prado Boulevard

Gloria Raso Tate remembers the early days of Cape Coral's Del Prado Boulevard with understandable nostalgia, but not without some degree of amusement.

In the early 1960s, as one of just 400 residents ensconced in a 404 square-mile area, Tate recalls that rainfall caused strange things to happen on the boulevard. "At that stage it was a narrow, two-lane dirt road," she says, "and sometimes after heavy rains you could walk along and pick up mullet that had become stranded on it."

A dirt road suggests that at that stage Cape Coral was what one might call adolescent in terms of both population and development. But, like the rest of Southwest Florida, the area was poised for stratospheric but carefully growth-managed development that has continued to this day. Around 100,000 residents now enjoy an uncluttered way of life in and around the city.

Right now, Del Prado, recently made conveniently accessible by the materialization of the long-awaited Midpoint Memorial Bridge, is experiencing a commercial revitalization, and complementing all the added access and exposure, according to Tate, is the fact that an energetic "greenscaping" drive has successfully blended it with the rest of the city.

This despite the largely commercial zoning along Del Prado, which has attracted some light industry, but still "clean light industry," as Tate, herself a Realtor, puts it. And, she adds, "it speaks for itself that a major company such as J.C. Penney would locate itself there."

Another recent addition is the establishment of reservation offices on Del Prado by a major airline to complement traditional businesses such as the Coralwood Mall, assorted plazas and their spin-off businesses, as well as commercial professional enterprise in the form of medical offices. Home supplier Lowe's recently came in, too.

Tate feels the bridge, which enables quicker access to Del Prado from I-75 via exit 22 and Colonial Boulevard, as well as the resultant new focus on Del Prado itself, have combined to produce a positive spin off for the entire city.

An obvious positive result is tourism, but, she adds, Cape Coral is a place where you can still pick up a three-bed, two bath house with water and sewer for around $70,000, representing affordable housing for young families as well as stimulating the market.

Not too long ago, she says, the median age in the town ran around 64. Now it is just 39.5, suggesting that Cape Coral is deemed a good place from which to commute to work in other parts of south Lee County.

With knowledge of pending bridge construction having been around for around 20 years, and most land along Del Prado long having being snapped up for speculative or business purposes, the boulevard's easier access now places it alongside the Santa Barbara Boulevard/Pine Island hub as a "true commercial corridor" in the town, according to Tate.

Not forgetting Cape Coral Parkway, of course, which is more a "walk and shop" area, and which is imminently due for expansion, says Tate, who has also served on the city council for the past year and a half. "The shopping center there still has its original sign," she reminisces.

Commercial realty specialist Phil Deems of Phil Deems Real Estate concurs with Tate about the positive effect the bridge has afforded Del Prado. "The widening of the road to six lanes, the improved traffic patterns because of the bridge all make it easier for customers to get to businesses in less time," he says. "That's a good mix. High traffic, good visibility and good access are the main ingredients for any retailers."

Deems reveals that not a whole lot of retail rental space still exists along Del Prado, and that turnover will provide virtually the only opportunities for new businesses to come into the area in future.

Nevertheless, he adds, going prices are comparable, if not cheaper than areas such as Fort Myers and Naples. Some ballpark figures supplied by Deems include around $10 to $16.50 per square foot for retail/commercial within a center on an annual basis, and for professional around $8, rising to $16.50. "Availability of good quality commercial is scarce," says Deems, "but we do have some available. It's pretty much a case in this instance of demand being stronger than supply."

He adds that this trend is even being felt in some of Cape Coral's industrial parks, where small businessmen are also finding availability is at a premium.

Century 21 Birchwood Realty's sales manager Fran Davis agrees with both Deems and Tate about the exposure advantages now being enjoyed by Del Prado tenants as a result of the bridge being completed. "Access was improved, and the result is more people coming to town," says Davis, who also cites another spin-off in the form of a healthy real estate market.

Gloria Raso Tate, in the meantime, isn't quite finished with some reminiscing. "When we arrived (in Cape Coral)," she says, "there was one hotel (the Nautilus), one grocery store, and a post office. Del Prado had signs from different states along it, depicting who had bought lots. At that stage it was a case of almost everybody working for one company -- in this case Gulf American Land Corporation -- but the place quickly grew from the retirement community it appeared it would be."

Keith Bredt is a freelance business writer.