FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: PROPOSED WAL-MART STALLS

Proposed Bonita Wal-Mart stalls [(Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press]

Bonita Springs’ first Wal-Mart could be in jeopardy because of traffic concerns, the latest in a list of delays for the project that’s been two years in the making.

“There’s a general problem with traffic out in that area,” City Manager Gary Price said.

The Roberts Group, an Atlanta-based developer behind the 68-acre project, is proposing nearly 400,000 square feet of retail shops and office space, including Wal-Mart, for the northwest corner of Bonita Beach Road and Bonita Grande Drive, near the busy Interstate 75 interchange.

“There’s just not enough capacity to accommodate them without seriously compromising the quality of life,” Mosehn Salehi, Bonita’s transpiration consultant, said.

County planners and Salehi would have voted against the Wal-Mart project had developers not asked for a zoning deferral until late September.

The Roberts Group did not return calls requesting comment. Neither did Wal-Mart.

Relieving the Beach Road traffic, especially surrounding the I-75 interchange, is a recurring topic for the Bonita City Council.

Last year, 29,300 vehicles traveled Bonita Beach Road west of the interstate each day, according to Lee County traffic records. East of the interchange, 18,800 cars traveled Bonita Beach Road daily, according to county data.

URS Corp., a traffic consultant, presented short-term traffic congestion fixes to the city council July 18.

Mayor Jay Arend has suggested that developers around the interchange be prepared to pay for improving traffic conditions.

“It’s going to take an effort of everybody who wants to develop on that corner,” Arend said.

Only a Home Depot store and City Mattress warehouse have been built near the interchange since Bonita became a city.

“The days when you could just go in and the city is going to look the other way are gone,” Price said.

Traffic woes are not limited to the Roberts Group plans.

Saint James Development is proposing a mix of retail, office and warehouse space 600 feet from the interchange. The company will likely hear that its project won’t get the green light from the zoning board Friday.

“That intersection is not designed for that kind of development,” Arend said.

Further west from the interchange, the proposed Lowe’s store at Beach Road and Old 41 was previously denied because of traffic problems. Lowe’s is currently reworking its project details.