Fort Myers advances $29.5M Midtown infrastructure phase

Fort Myers is moving forward with the first phase of its long-awaited Midtown Streetscape and Utility Replacement Project. City Council on March 16 authorized a guaranteed maximum price of $29,485,399.99 with AIM Construction Contracting. 

Serving as construction manager at risk, AIM will install new underground utilities and drainage, along with roadway, sidewalk, streetlight, street furniture, landscape and signage improvements throughout the Phase 1 area. The project is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Broadway Avenue, Victoria Avenue and Central Avenue. 

The area, a neighborhood adjacent to downtown, includes restaurants and shops, professional services, murals and a mix of older homes and new construction. It also encompasses landmarks, such as Collaboratory, Rosa Parks Transportation Center and Greyhound bus station, Fort Myers Police Department headquarters, Fire Station 11 and the Joseph P. D’Alessandro Office Complex. 

City staff said construction is expected to begin in May and take about 450 days to complete. Phase 1 covers roughly one-third of Midtown’s 243-acre redevelopment area, which extends south to Edison Avenue, west to U.S. 41 and east to Fowler Street. The area includes the former News-Press building and City of Palms Park stadium, both targeted for redevelopment. 

In 2025, the city approved the $11.5 million sale of the News-Press building and Fire Station No. 1 to Catalyst Community Development LLC. The developer plans to build residences, offices and a hotel on the site. The sale has been delayed multiple times as the parties address issues including potential railroad track removal, economic incentive negotiations and easement adjustments. 

The city also plans to demolish City of Palms Park. It is conducting a $356,180 study with Indiana-based Card & Associates to evaluate the feasibility of a new sports complex with retail and other amenities at the site. 

Additional Midtown projects include a new Fort Myers Police Department headquarters, estimated at more than $140 million, at Fowler and Market streets, and Montage at Midtown along Victoria Avenue, where construction is underway on a four-story, 321-unit apartment complex with commercial space. 

The streetscape and utility project is intended to support the city’s Midtown Vision Plan, a long-term redevelopment strategy aimed at creating a mixed-use district and strengthening connections to the downtown River District and surrounding neighborhoods. 

City officials have identified portions of Midtown as vacant or underused and plan to redevelop them into mixed-use centers and new residential areas. 

Fort Myers has spent years preparing for the project. City staff reported the city previously contracted with AIM for $1.1 million in Midtown master planning. Additional authorizations include $2.8 million for construction plans and permitting, $3 million for advance construction along Union Street, and $2.5 million for a Midtown master pump station.