The recently approved partnership between the City and the Florida Department
of Transportation will create new and exciting opportunities for economic
development on the two-mile stretch of Pine Island Road between
Chiquita Boulevard and Burnt Store Road. City staff already has started to create a
vision and marketing plan for this stretch of roadway, much like the Veterans Investment
Zone, or “VIZ,” marketing for the area surrounding the new Veterans Clinic.
“The possibilities for economic development associated with the widening of
Pine Island Road are simply incredible,” said City Manager Gary King. “The 10-year
projection of economic impact at build-out could be in the billions of dollars range.”
With its large parcels, this two-mile stretch of road could support about 7 million
square feet of development with 6,000 to 7,000 employees. This area has been
touted as a potential location for the city’s first shopping mall. If this were to happen,
not only would it provide jobs, a mall would create a destination location in the
city. This would attract other developments and employment opportunities.
Marketing ideas could include:
Naming the area
Renaming Pine Island Road in that area
Creating new development standards to ensure the type of development that
would be the highest and best uses
Incentivizing uses that most closely connect the actual development to the
vision
The city invites any and all ideas about how this section of Pine Island Road
should be developed. Those interested in providing their thoughts should email
them to the Economic Development Department at ecodev@capecoral.net.
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