Lee County approves Merchant Crossing renovations

Reporter: Gina Tomlinson
Published: Updated:

Merchant Crossing will receive some renovations after Lee County approved a $75,000 budget, according to Lee County leaders.

The goal for the renovation project is to turn Merchants Crossing into a community hub that can be enjoyed by citizens and guests of Fort Myers.

Fixing up the shopping center is something that residents have been hoping for, for a long time.

“It will make it look a lot better and that will make more people want to be here, shop here and come and live people, says Pat Wolfe, who lives in Fort Myers.

“So many big stores went out of business all over, so I guess that’s a problem in all different places but especially here,” said Wolfe.

The renovation will include things like, a new paint job, roofing instillation, and new entry ways. The renovations also mean more jobs coming to North Fort Myers.

“We put that program out there hoping that the owners of these plazas would apply and hoping that they would look at renovating their place, ultimately so they would create more jobs and a more thriving economy,” said District 4 County Commissioner, Brian Hamman.

The project is the first in a pilot program Lee County leaders created last year to help build North Fort Myers economy using surplus tax dollars.

Lee County Commissioners have set aside $2,000,000 for the North Fort Myers Revitalization Incentives Program, and they are encouraging other plaza owners to apply until the funds run out.

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