In January 2024 I wrote an article for the Beacon describing the development activity happening along the Charlotte County section of Burnt Store Road. This month I turn to the Cape Coral stretch of the road between Vincent Road and the current northern limit of the four lane expansion. There is an abundance of both conservation land and undeveloped private land along this stretch of road. This summary will focus mainly on announced initiatives, whether approved or not. See also Chapter 16 of my book Where Do We Live? for more information about this stretch of the highway. Next month (June 2024) in Part 2 I will examine development along the southern four lane stretch of Burnt Store Road.
Conservation Land:
Directly across from Burnt Store Marina is the Yucca Pens Unit of the Fred C. Babcock / Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area (owned by the State of Florida). The Yucca Pens Unit has almost one mile of frontage on Burnt Store Road in two segments as noted on Map 1, and extensive lands east of the road. The Yucca Pens Unit covers 14,500 acres in total, straddling the Charlotte – Lee County Line (only the Lee County portion is shown on Map 1).
The lake reflected above between the two Yucca Pens frontages on Burnt Store Road is part of a 120 acre property owned by CC Land Development Company. The municipal address is 4751 Burnt Store Road and it has been referred to in the past as Burnt Store Acres, perhaps suggesting future development plans.
On the west side of Burnt Store Road south of Burnt Store Marina is another large tract of conservation land, also owned by the State. This tract, outlined on Map 2, is part of the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park which surrounds much of the east and west sides of Charlotte Harbor. Lee County also has several parcels in this area, some of it assembled as part of their Conservation 20/20 Fund initiative (see Map 2).
Note 1 – Across from the Dollar General the property owner, SVR, LLC, has requested a rezoning of the subject 35.49 acre parcel from AG-2 to MXPD to permit the development of a 354-unit multi-family development and a maximum of 222,900 square feet of commercial uses.
Encore Tranquility Lakes RV Resort
After close to ten years of planning and development the Encore Tranquility Lakes RV Resort is now open with 150 pads for motor homes and RVs, and potential for another 350 pads in future phases. It has a clubhouse, pickle ball courts, swimming pools and exercise room and is situated around 90 acres of lakes (see lower center of Map 2).
Across from Tranquility Lakes the Lee County Electric Cooperative has recently purchased 19 acres which will be used in part to build a much needed new sub-station to service the corridor and the new Hudson Creek development.
Burnt Store Recycling Property
In 2021 Burnt Store 316 LLC purchased the approximately 311 acres surrounding the Burnt Store Yard Waste Recycling business at 3500 and 3620 Burnt Store Road. Their plans for the property have not been publicly disclosed. A previous development concept contemplated 600 water front lots around the eight man-made lakes (see center left of Map 3).
Hudson Creek
In Chapter 17 – Who Was Mr. Zemel? of Where Do We Live? I described the sale of 1,483 acres east of Burnt Store Road by the Zemel family to GA-Pinnacle Cape Coral LLC for $3.0 million in 2016. That land is now the core of a 1,745 acre multi-purpose development proposal to be called Hudson Creek. The zoned and permitted property is listed for sale for $125 million and as of April 20, 2024 was designated as “under contract” on the broker website – https://properties.lsicompanies.com/s/detail/a0M6e00000MG46yEAD.
Hudson Creek is earmarked for 3,500 residential units (2,500 single family & 1,000 multi-family) as well as 500,000 square feet of commercial uses, with roughly 622 acres of the property to function as wetland and upland preserve. The commercial zoning is located along Burnt Store Road and the plan calls for five entrances off Burnt Store Road between Sand Road and Caloosa Parkway (south of Sanctuary Estates and across from Cape Recycling). If this development proceeds before the Lee County portion of the Burnt Store Road widening project is completed, it could introduce some significant new traffic challenges. There are substantial barriers which must be cleared before construction begins. The developer must bring roads and utilities into the property and acquire plat approvals and building permits from the City of Cape Coral. Completion will be many years in the future.
Janis Road to Gator Slough
There are three ownership groups with substantial land holdings along the east side of Burnt Store Road south of the Hudson Creek land and between the communications tower opposite Janis Road and Gator Slough (see Map 3). These have all been the subject of various development proposals over the years and two of them are currently listed for sale by their owners through commercial realtors. All three have either lakes or other conservation easements on them. Burnt Store Ltd. owns 267 acres, which include the communications tower and several large lakes created by aggregate removal. The second, which is listed for sale, is 153 acres (92 acres zoned Neighborhood Commercial) south of the tower. The third, also listed for sale, consists of 127 acres which straddle Gator Slough where the four lane stretch of Burnt Store Road currently begins.
The City of Cape Coral owns much of the land on the west side of Burnt Store Road along this stretch, owned formerly by Thieman Enterprises who had planned to develop it.
Summary:
Most of the major developments described above are still a few years in the future and face various approval steps. They will undoubtedly have transformational impacts on the area and its traffic patterns. It is my view that it is essential that Lee County fast track the completion of the expansion of Burnt Store Road to four lanes to accommodate this growth. See article by Jerry Newmin elsewhere in this month’s Beacon for more information about the status of that project.
Sources: Lee County Property Appraiser website; Lee County Economic Development GIS Hub; Cape Coral Zoning Map; Northwest Cape Coral Neighborhood Association website, various commercial realtor listings, developer websites and local news reporting.