Two Complexes on Summerlin Road

Two complexes due along Summerlin RoadOffice tower, boutique hotel to be built near intersection with Gladiolus RoadBy Don Manleydmanley@news-press.com Originally posted on December 19, 2005

Two major developments are coming to Summerlin Road, including a seven-story glass office tower and a boutique hotel.The office tower will bring a new bank into the area, while the hotel project will include residential and commercial development on property a few hundred yards from Gladiolus Drive.Along Summerlin's eastern side, between Gladiolus and Cypress Lake Drive, real estate agents' signs are now joined by construction workers and their equipment.
Work on the tower, named Cyperlin Center, is scheduled to begin in May and end in late 2007, said Gregg Fous, owner of Market America Realty and Investments of Fort Myers, the developer.He said the 7,000-square-foot building will become an office condominium and preliminary agreements have already been reached with two purchasers.
Slated to occupy the first floor is Iowa-based First American Bank, which specializes in commercial and small business lending.First American recently agreed to buy Pelican Bank and its six branches in Lee and Collier counties. The bank opened a local loan-production office in March and plans to expand its Southwest Florida operations, said Ken Aschom, president of First American Bank Florida.He said Cyperlin would be its Lee County headquarters and also contain a full-service branch, including a drive-through. The bank may also purchase the tower's naming rights, Aschom said.
Phoenix Law Partners PA will move its offices from University Park, at the corner of Summerlin and College Parkway, to half of a floor at Cyperlin, which it already has reserved, said the firm's president, Charles Phoenix."This will be the first reflective glass contemporary mid-rise office building in Southwest Florida," said the tower's designer, Michael Sheeley, owner Sheeley Architects in Fort Myers.
He said the interior of the concrete frame structure will have an upscale look, both inside and out, and a number of environmentally friendly and energy efficient features. The exterior design features a gently curved facade, front and rear, with an angled corner facing Summerlin and Cypress Lake Drive."We're very excited about it and think it's going be a landmark building in Lee County," Sheeley said.Phoenix said he began considering a move once he learned of Cyperlin.
"I was not actively looking, but the opportunity to own Class A space in the building was appealing to me and the other members of the firm," he said.Upscale office space that offers prime location and access is considered to be Class A.
Fous, Aschom and Phoenix all said Class A space is a scarce local commodity, because builders have focused on more profitable residential development in recent years.Fous said he's certain the tower will sell out long before construction is completed. He pointed not just to the accommodations, but also its location."It's a prestige location for a prestige building," he said. "You're in the heart of the south Fort Myers business district," he said. "I think that's the key. This is probably the best corner in Lee County. Very high visibility."
Phoenix agreed."It's in the center of the financial district of the Fort Myers area and that's where we want to be, and where our clientele is," he said "Additionally, it's a convenient location for all the employees of the firm."
About a mile south of Cyperlin sits a site of about 40 acres that will be home to Ardmore, a three-part project being built by Ardmore Development, of Fort Myers.It also will be home to Reflection Key, a mix of 180 three-story condominiums and patio homes, The Ardmore — A Boutique Condo Hotel, and a 60,000-square foot commercial building that will provide space for office, retail and restaurant uses.Work began about a month ago on Reflection Key and should end in 2007, said Vincent Wolanin, owner of Ardmore Development.
Wolanin said said construction should start on the commercial building in late 2006 and end in early 2007, while work is scheduled to begin on the hotel in early 2007. The hotel, which will have 280 condominium units, will probably take two years to complete, he said.The Ardmore will target the segment of the part-time resident market that wants to enjoy hotel-like conveniences in a place they call home.
"It's for people who want live in a building that has services, and then rent it out when they're not there," he said.Wolanin said The Ardmore's amenities will include maid service, as well as a pool, fitness room, restaurant and more.He predicted a commercial growth is about to explode on Summerlin, south of Cypress Lake Drive.
"It's one of the best market locations," he said. "If you were to take a dart and throw it at the map and you said to yourself, I want this to land dead center in the active market place, it would land there. That's going to be the new corridor that takes the place of (U.S.) 41 because 41 is overbuilt."It's attractive because it goes between Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach, and Captiva," he said.
Gary Tasman of VIP Commercial Realty said Summerlin is a logical destination for office space development."There's no question that what we're observing is the expansion of the College office corridor," he said. "That corridor has the highest concentration of office space and the lowest vacancy rate. The reality is the College corridor is completely built out and the market can only go south on Summerlin toward Gladiolus. It's a reaction to the high occupancy rate and it's very much needed."