Ambitious developer encounters pushback from local residents

Reporter: Gina Tomlinson
Published: Updated:
Portion of blueprints for the planned Estero Crossing. (WINK News photo)
Portion of blueprints for the planned Estero Crossing. (WINK News photo)

An ambitious developer faces push back from nearby neighbors as a series of projects will bring more traffic to an already busy area. Neighbors are angry as they fight the project in an effort to keep their community quiet.

Bill Savage lives in a neighborhood off Corkscrew Road near I-75 in Estero.

Savage and others don’t want the 43 acres nearby their backyards turning into a massive development, which may add to the traffic congestion that is already a headache for those who live there.

“Getting out of here is already a problem now,” Savage said.

“It’s just a very very dangerous situation as far as traffic flow,” said neighbor Barbara Crowe. “You sit there and you wait to get out.”

Stock Development is asking the Village of Estero to approve rezoning the land to fit 350 apartments, a 130 room hotel, plus a commercial space called Estero Crossing. It is a proposal that nearby neighbors have been fighting since 2014.

Those attending the meeting Tuesday evening hope the developer will scale back on its big plans.

“Their wishes or their plans are quite grand,” Crowe said. “But that is a very small piece of land!”

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