Downtown Fort Myers Beach is primed for a $140 million redevelopment that will add a four-star hotel, an upscale shopping district, time-share condos, restaurants and a road to help ease traffic congestion.
The project, filed recently with the town of Fort Myers Beach and the first of its kind for Times Square, encompass Seafarer’s Village and the vacant Gulf lots across the street, where the Days Inn, Jimmy B’s Bar and other hotels once stood.

Anticipating an upward economic swing, Bonkowski and some investment partners purchased old bayside homes along Estero Boulevard, near Times Square. They plan to build six condos that will sell for about $2 million each.

The popular Dockside Sports Pub and the Matanzas Inn will be replaced by a condo-resort with 34 units and 6,000 square-feet of commercial space, a key element in the revitalization of Old San Carlos Boulevard.

Just a few blocks south on Estero Boulevard, The Shamrock Irish Pub, a well-known watering hole in one of the Beach’s oldest buildings, will be redeveloped into luxury condos and a gourmet deli.

Downtown Fort Myers Beach has never been revitalized on a grand scale. Small stores have improved their building facades and new venues have opened, but the last big project was in 1994 when Times Square was closed to traffic and became a pedestrian walkway.