Bimini East Development Agreement
At a glance
Based on human-made captions; names, votes and numbers may be misspelled or garbled.
- What: Ordinance 55-26 declares city-owned parcels surplus and approves a development agreement, purchase and sale agreement and park ground lease with Crown Development for Bimini East, a roughly $500 million mixed-use project south of Cape Coral Parkway.
- Where it stands: approved on second and final reading on October 21, 2026, on a roll call recorded as six ayes and one nay (the captions suggest Keith Long cast the no), despite about two hours of residents' objections and requests to wait for the new council.
- Next: the purchase agreement must be signed within ten days of the effective date, with first-phase civil permits due within six months and marina approvals required; the developer is expected to hold town halls.
The deal
- Three linked agreements: the development agreement, the purchase and sale agreement, and a 99-year ground lease of Four Freedoms Park at $1 a year, with improvements reverting to the city at the end.
- 34 acres in all; about 22.1 city-owned acres conveyed for $24.3 million paid over ten years through parcel release payments, with a $1 million deposit (cash or letter of credit) and closing gates that include a water management district approval for a marina.
- Plan: up to about 900 residential units (zoning allows 2,500), a 250-room hotel, 150,000 to 200,000 sq ft of medical space, commercial space, a 4,000 sq ft police substation (20-year lease plus renewals), a 50-slip marina (half public), about 2,000 parking spaces in up to four garages (480 permanently public), and a one-acre park with two tennis courts and a playground. The developer would also run the city mooring field.
- City and redevelopment agency commitments: a 95 percent tax-increment rebate up to $45.75 million through 2042; $11 million toward two property purchases ($5.5 million each), repayable if there is no certificate of occupancy by October 1, 2032; impact fee credits of $500,000 a year up to $5 million; up to $200,000 each for demolishing eight structures at actual cost; half the promenade up to $1 million; $1.5 million each toward a roundabout or signal at Coronado and Miramar; and actual documented stormwater cost along Victoria Drive.
- Staff's construction-only estimate: about 3,400 jobs, $246 million in labor income and $750.9 million in total economic output.
Concerns raised
- No traffic analysis; staff replied that a traffic study comes with the site plan and that most trips are already on Cape Coral Parkway (captured sooner rather than new).
- Expansion of the entertainment district (staff: it extends west to Coronado, not south), a bandshell, late amplified music, boat rentals and wakes in the no-wake canals.
- Financing terms: an interest-free ten-year payment structure, no performance bond, stale appraisals, mobility fee credits, and no guarantee the site is built as presented.
- Process: a 20-day review of a half-billion-dollar agreement (Rachel Kaduk), a single formal response to the request for proposals, and requests to pause until the new mayor and council take office after November 3.
Council discussion
- Supporters (Joe Kilraine, Jennifer Nelson-Lastra, William E. (Bill) Steinke, Mayor Gunter) called it transformational and noted it is paid from redevelopment-agency money, not general city funds. Kaduk supports the development but not the short review. Laurie Lehmann asked about dropping the bandshell and keeping Four Freedoms Park.
- Larry Nygaard pledged to change the park as little as possible but said the marina needs part of it and the bandshell and promenade are integral to activating the waterfront.
- Related street vacations were heard at the October 20 hearing; see Bimini East Street Vacations.
Sources
- City Council video, October 21, 2026: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gek3m_aGzns
- City Clerk agendas and videos: https://www.capecoral.gov/departments/city_clerk/agendas_videos.php
Discussion time
About 68 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 - City Council | 68 |
Log
- 2026-10-21 - City Council — Second and final public hearing; approved six to one after extended public opposition, council debate over the 20-day review, traffic, the bandshell and Four Freedoms Park, and a developer pledge to hold town halls.
- 2026-10-07 - City Council — First public hearing on Ordinance 55-26. Staff and the developer described the terms ($24.3 million land price, 99-year park lease, tax increment rebate, marina, hotel and medical space); speakers questioned appraisals, financial analysis and default risk. No vote; second hearing set for October 21.