Sunseeker Resort expected completion 2021, large area growth predicted

The Sunseeker Resort by Allegiant  Air is scheduled to open in Charlotte Harbor in 2021 and expected to bring hundreds of jobs to the area and hundreds of thousands of tourists each year.

We looked to see if the area is prepared for this new growth in the near future. Immediately, the project has brought construction.

“You just see a bunch of cranes sticking up in the air,” said Mark Bienz, with a laugh, at Port Charlotte Isle. “And they have a nice wall as you go by driving.”

Soon, Sunseeker is expected to generate lots more visitors as well.

“I’m sure they’re right,” said Kenneth Norfleet in Port Charlotte. “It’s going to explode.”

Therefore, it will change the makeup of the area as people know it.

“It won’t be quaint and quiet anymore,” said Rachel Mays, who was visiting from Nashville.

Allegiant expects the resort to attract 300,000 visitors annually when it opens in spring of 2021.

“I think it will bring more opportunities for people to stay and put it on the map a little more,” Norfleet said.

The new resort is expected to create 800 jobs. That’s on top of the hundreds of construction jobs already filled. The hiring process for the Sunseeker Resort is already underway for some positions.

Charlotte County believes tens of thousands of those short-term visitors will decide to stay long-term and eventually move to the area permanently.

“They need to have a plan to handle all of the people it’s going to bring in,” Norfleet said.

The county says it’s preparing for the increase in crowds by widening Main Street next to the property and a Sunseeker funded turning lane for drivers entering the resort.

“Basically, the amount of traffic that will be on the roads that we don’t have now,” Norfleet said.

While not everyone is accepting of the future change, others argue progress is the cost of living in paradise.

“I don’t care what city you’re in, they are going to want to try to grow,” Bienz said. “And you’re going to have to deal with that.”

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