CAPE CORAL'S $63.6 MILLION GAMBLE: THE REAL COST OF BIMINI EAST

At the July 29, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting, the City of Cape Coral presented its proposed plan for the redevelopment of Bimini East. City leaders and the developer painted a picture of what could eventually become a transformational downtown project. But once you get beyond the renderings and promises and start looking at the numbers and terms of the proposed deal, taxpayers should have some serious questions.

Under the proposed plan, the City would convey approximately 22 acres to the developer. But even after the millions already spent assembling the Bimini East property, eight privately owned structures remain within the project area. According to the City's presentation, the developer is negotiating purchase or relocation agreements involving an ice cream shop, an automotive shop, two bank properties, and three multi-family structures.

That immediately raises questions. Why is the developer negotiating the prices of properties that Cape Coral taxpayers may ultimately be responsible for purchasing? Where are the appraisals? What determines whether the negotiated prices represent fair market value? And what agreements, incentives, or other arrangements are being made between the developer and the remaining property owners?

Another $11 Million?

According to the presentation, the City would purchase the automotive shop and three multi-family structures at the developer's negotiated price of $11 million and then convey those properties to the developer at the appraised value. Based on what? Taxpayers deserve to see the appraisals supporting these purchases before another $11 million is committed.

There is also an apparent discrepancy that needs to be explained. The PowerPoint presentation indicates that the $11 million involves George's Garage and three other properties, while paragraph 17(a) of the Non-Binding Term Sheet appears to indicate the $11 million purchases George's Garage and the Trumbull Apartments.

Which is it?

And then there is demolition. Under the proposal, the City could spend approximately $1.6 million demolishing structures on eight properties — up to $200,000 per structure. That includes demolition associated with properties the City may not even purchase. Why should Cape Coral taxpayers pay to demolish structures on property they don't own?

This comes after taxpayers already spent more than $40 million acquiring the original Bimini East properties, followed by demolition and other expenses that brought the total investment to approximately $45 million. Yet the proposed purchase price for the assembled property is approximately $26.3 million.

That is a staggering difference.

10-Year Payback

The proposed purchase price is $26,292,325, and according to the presentation, it would be fully amortized over 10 years. That works out to roughly $2.63 million per year. Interestingly, that annual payment is close to the amount of interest taxpayers are paying on the borrowing associated with acquiring the property. So while the developer gets a decade to pay the City, taxpayers have already carried the financial burden of purchasing and assembling the land. Is this really the best financial arrangement Cape Coral could negotiate?

What Happens to Four Freedoms Park?

Perhaps one of the most concerning provisions involves Four Freedoms Park — Cape Coral's first public park.

The proposal states:

"The City shall convey the existing Four Freedoms Park parcels for the development of a reimagined Four Freedoms Park..."

In other words, the City proposes conveying the existing park property as part of this development. The developer's plan calls for a reimagined waterfront park with public lawn and event space, a bandshell, waterfront promenade, and marina access, while relocating the existing playground elsewhere within the larger development. But Four Freedoms Park is more than three acres of waterfront property. What is that property actually worth?

Based on sales of smaller waterfront properties south of Cape Coral Parkway, its value could potentially be millions of dollars. Yet the City appears prepared to convey the property as part of this development arrangement. That raises a bigger question: Should eight elected officials be able to make a decision involving one of Cape Coral's historic public parks without residents having a direct say?

City officials say the reimagined Four Freedoms Park will remain a park. But what protects residents decades from now? What prevents a future owner from seeking a zoning change? What prevents a future City Council from approving one?

Cape Coral residents deserve more than assurances. They deserve enforceable protections.

The Public Benefits

The proposal isn't without promised public benefits. The developer identifies a reimagined Four Freedoms Park, a relocated playground, a new police substation, 45 public-access boat slips, a waterfront promenade, and additional downtown investment as benefits of the project.

But even the 45 public-access boat slips generated questions during the Committee of the Whole discussion about exactly what "public access" means. We'll be taking a much closer look at that issue in the next installment. The developer's presentation describes the proposal as "A Fiscally Disciplined Path to a Transformational Asset." That's a great headline. But taxpayers need to look beyond the headline and examine what Cape Coral is actually putting into this deal.

How Much Could This Cost Cape Coral?

Let's start adding it up.

• Approximately $45 million — Original acquisition of 47 properties and demolition

• $11 million — Additional property acquisitions identified in the proposal

• $1.6 million — Demolition of structures on eight additional properties

• Up to $1 million — City contribution toward construction of the promenade

• Approximately $5 million — Impact-fee credits for Fire, Advanced Life Support, Parks, and mobility impact fees

• Additional unknown costs — Improvements along Coronado Parkway and Miramar Street that would be shared between the City and developer

• Additional unknown costs — Replacement of existing streetlights along Cape Coral Parkway and Coronado Parkway within the project boundaries

That brings the identified City costs to: $63,600,000 PLUS. And the PLUS is important because several potential expenses still don't have a final price tag.

Then there is another major component of the deal: approximately $45 million in TIF incentives. City officials and supporters of the project may argue that a TIF incentive shouldn't be treated the same as writing a $45 million check. That's fair from an accounting standpoint. But residents should still understand what it means: those are future tax revenues that would otherwise potentially be available for other public purposes. Residents should decide for themselves whether that represents a cost.

And This Is Only the Beginning

There is something else residents need to understand. This is a Non-Binding Term Sheet. It is the beginning of the process, not the end. The approximately $500 million development shown in renderings and presentations is a proposed vision. There is no guarantee that the final project will look exactly like what residents were shown July 29.

Cape Coral has already put tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into assembling Bimini East. Now taxpayers are being asked to potentially put millions more into additional property acquisitions, demolition, infrastructure, fee credits, and other incentives while transferring valuable public property as part of the redevelopment. Maybe Bimini East ultimately becomes everything the developer and City administration say it can become.

But after this much taxpayer money has been committed, residents have every right to demand something more than beautiful renderings and promises. They deserve appraisals, specific numbers, who pays for what, and what protections exist for Four Freedoms Park. And most importantly, they deserve to know the true financial exposure to Cape Coral taxpayers before another dollar is committed.

There is much more to come on the proposed Bimini East project. In our next installment, we'll dig into what was actually said during the Committee of the Whole meeting by City Council, the developer, City Manager, and City Attorney.

All information has been thoroughly investigated and reported by the Take Out the Trash Committee of Cape Coral and/or its authorized volunteers!