Fort Myers Beach Outrigger redevelopment vote delayed again

The outcome of the Outrigger Beach Resort redevelopment saga will have to wait until May 12. 

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency agreed May 8 to a continuance at the request of London Bay, the developer seeking to build a resort on the site of the former 144-room Outrigger hotel destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022. 

Friday’s meeting continued a six-hour April 14 hearing. Developers had sought a continuance of the April meeting to make changes to the proposal. 

London Bay’s land-use attorney, Richard Yovanovich, said the developer would present its proposed changes May 12. The latest revisions show London Bay would reduce the project height from 195 feet to 158 feet. LPA members at the April meeting recommended lowering the height to 158 feet. 

Friday’s agenda also showed London Bay removed all proposed public benefits, including restaurants, bars, public beach access and event and meeting space. 

London Bay faced criticism during the public hearing over whether the proposed public benefits would help Fort Myers Beach residents. Some residents also criticized the developer’s planned tiki bar, which would have been open to the public. 

London Bay purchased the Outrigger and Charley’s Boat House Grill for $38.2 million in 2023. The developer’s plans for a 15-story condominium building and three hotel-condominium buildings of nine, 11 and 12 stories have drawn criticism from residents. 

“We purchased our condo in January of 2023 with the expectation that the adjoining property would be developed in accordance with the comprehensive plan and land development code,” said Marcia O’Brien, who lives next door to the project. “We never thought it possible that variances of the size and scope proposed would even be considered.” 

The project cannot move forward without changes to the comprehensive plan. London Bay also is seeking a zoning change, an amendment to the future land-use map and special exemptions for construction in the Environmental Critical Zone and expanded alcohol consumption in the Environmental Critical Zone. 

Not everyone on the island opposes the project. LPA members said they have received emails supporting and opposing the proposal. 

Dave Nusbaum spoke in favor of the project during the public hearing, saying businesses on the southern end of Fort Myers Beach are struggling. 

“Everything from the Red Coconut down here is slowly having difficulty recovering. It’s because we don’t have enough bars, we don’t have enough restaurants, we don’t have enough people,” Nusbaum said. 

The LPA’s recommendation will go to Fort Myers Beach Town Council, which has final approval authority over the project. Council is expected to vote sometime in June. London Bay CEO Mark Wilson said that, if approved, construction would not begin until 2027 or 2028, with completion projected for 2030 or 2031.