Summer is officially over. The roads are packed, traffic is a daily adventure and there seems to be an abundance of activity everywhere we look. The twist, though, is that Season hasn’t actually gotten started yet—our current bustle is the result of an incredible construction boom.
In “Building Momentum” on p. 32, David Dorsey and Tim Aten check in on the progress of and plans for several highlights of the many, many projects in motion for Lee and Collier counties, as well as Charlotte, which is poised for substantial residential expansion. Prices are high, sourcing materials can be tricky and new state law isn’t making labor personnel any easier to find, but those obstacles don’t seem to be deterrents; from Cape Coral to Babcock Ranch, industrial facilities to health care complexes, luxury condos to long-delayed resorts, the business of building is at full throttle throughout the area.
Development is to be expected considering the phenomenal increase in population from new neighbors moving to the Sunshine State daily. Of course, that’s only part of the picture. It’s certainly true that Southwest Florida is growing by leaps and bounds, but a large portion of the building underway in the area isn’t new construction; it’s ongoing efforts to rebuild after the appalling devastation of Hurricane Ian. How much rebuilding? Lee County recently added 23 new jobs to its community development department, in part to help deal with the more than 45,000 hurricane-related permit applications that were filed between Oct. 1 of last year and June 30.
While we can and do hope that future storms are less severe and less direct in their aim, it’s an unfortunate fact of life in this coastal paradise that hurricanes will come again, and again. Structural resiliency is top of mind for residents and builders alike, as Beth Luberecki writes in “Weathering the Storms” on p. 46. “I’m all for being next to the water,” as longtime local architect Joyce Owens puts it, “but … if you’re going to invest in those locations, then invest so you’re designing your properties with Mother Nature, and not against Mother Nature.” In location, design and materials, Floridians are finding more ways to safeguard structures against storm damage—while the impulse to get back to normal and rebuild things as they were is understandable, incorporating lessons from past destruction benefits the present and future community.
I hope you enjoy this issue, and these remaining weeks of comparative calm before tourism kicks back into high gear. Active as the area currently is, we all have much busier days and months in store. Season is only the beginning; the future is coming, and for Southwest Florida, it’s going to be big.
