Mark Wilson, CEO of London Bay, went all in on luxury with the planned Ritz-Carlton Residences of Estero Bay.
The sales center alone, which held its grand opening at 5000 Coconut Road in Bonita Springs, cost $5 million, while a future development model cost $125,000.
“When you think about the size of the project that we’re doing, spending $5 million to show our prospective customers what they can expect from a full-size kitchen, a full-size bathroom, finishes that represent the building and a model so they can see exactly how the building is going to be, I think that’s very important for us,” Wilson said.
The model shows the two 22-story towers, each having 112 residences. Wilson said the south tower will be built first and should break ground by the middle of 2023. With a 27- to 28-month construction schedule, it’s expected to be ready by the end of 2025.
Residences will range from 2,628 to 3,885 square feet, with prices from $2.8 million to $15.1 million for a penthouse suite. About 25% of the south tower has been booked.
The development will have 5 acres of outdoor amenities, which include the 18-hole Saltleaf golf course, three swimming pools and a 72-slip marina.
“I think the location is very important,” Wilson said. “We are right on Estero Bay. And Estero Bay is preserved estuary. There’s absolutely beautiful, pristine water, about five minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.” 
The 224 tower units are just the first of 803 residences zoned for London Bay’s property. Wilson said it would take at least a decade for all of them to be built. After that, the sales center would be demolished.
London Bay hired Miami-based Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica to do the architecture. Meyer Davis, an interior design firm, will handle the towers’ interior and put the finishing touches on the sales center.
Pablo Massari, who designed the landscaping at the adjacent Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, was hired as the landscape architect.
“Ritz-Carlton, we have worked with them on a few other interesting projects,” said Will Meyer, co-founder of the Meyer Davis design firm that has designed hotels with different brands worldwide. “We worked on one with just spectacular views all across Mexico City. It was a great vehicle for Ritz-Carlton to establish their brand now.”
Another big project is the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, Spain.
“We’re able to bring that global sense of luxury and weave it into local sensibilities here in Southwest Florida,” Meyer said. “With Ritz-Carlton, that luxury, design and service are institutional and inseparable. That sense of luxury is not only the way it looks, but the way it feels and the way it functions. To bring that here to Southwest Florida, it’s just spectacular.”
