Need to re-imagine commercial corridor
To the editor:
It’s been 3 1/2 years since Hurricane Ian and we have made a lot of fantastic progress as a community. Single family homes are restored and most condominium buildings are open. However, there remain numerous commercial parcels along Periwinkle Way that have not changed since the storm. They are hollowed out shells, many of which are rotting away. Mold and moisture have taken hold. Landscaping consists of weeds.
In addition, we have existing commercial strip centers that have been repaired since the storm, but they are not fully leased with commercial tenants. They look good, but their owners simply cannot enough attract commercial tenants.
We need to re-imagine what Periwinkle Way will be for the future. Retail has changed forever. It’s partially due to Ian, but it’s mostly due to Amazon. Retail was not exactly flourishing on the island before the storm. Before Amazon, a grandmother might go to a shop on Sanibel and buy a toy for a grandchild up north. They would then go to the post office and pack it and send it in the mail. Today, they just click a few buttons from home.
Furthermore, we may presently have the correct number of restaurants on the island. The restaurants that are open are doing quite well. In peak season they are full and often have a wait. In the past, we always had a few restaurants that were on the brink of closing, and many did. We have several parcels that formerly were restaurants, and they are for sale, but there aren’t many takers. The cost of building a resilient concrete structure on stilts is too prohibitive.
I think converting some of these vacant properties to housing should be considered. New housing could be below-market-rate affordable housing built and managed by Community Housing & Resources (CHR). New housing might also be market rate townhomes or apartments (with short term rentals prohibited).
Sanibel currently has cluster housing rules that could be used to develop these properties with market rate housing. This would still be in keeping with Sanibel’s sanctuary character. This is not pristine land we are talking about. These are cleared commercial lots on the busiest street on the island. I am in the medical field and have no personal interest in Sanibel real estate. However, I don’t like looking at post-hurricane blight. None of us do. We need to think what our commercial corridor will look like in the future.
If we don’t strongly consider converting the vacant commercial properties to housing, I’m afraid many of these properties will sit idle for the next decade or so. The economics of rebuilding these places as commercial properties just doesn’t make sense to invest investors, I’m afraid.
Dr. Scott Crater
Sanibel