Tom Hanson: Redevelopment is coming to downtown Bonita, no matter what

There is one certainty about redevelopment in downtown Bonita Springs: Tonight, both the proponents and opponents of the $40 million project will pack City Hall.

Come early and bring your pajamas. The workshop discussing the Imperial Landing deal may be the longest meeting in the six-year history of the city. It’s definitely the most important.

But don’t look for the project to be voted down. This is one of the many misconceptions concerning redevelopment.

Don’t be confused. The three new members of City Council — Pat McCourt, Richard Ferreira and Martha Simons — are outspoken against the entire Antaramian proposal. Along with Alex Grantt’s distinct dissension, they now have enough votes to squash the deal.

They are not exactly the Fab Four. Let’s call them the Finicky Four.

The Finicky Four say they aren’t against redevelopment. They’re just against this project.

As one of the Finicky Four, who we’ll call Ringo, said, “Why are we even talking about it. You know we are going to vote it down.”

But Bonita Springs City Manager Gary Price says a vote will not take place tonight.

“They can ask the city staff to go in another direction but they can’t really vote the project down,” Price said “We will know how they stand, whether they are in favor of the project or not.”

Along with voting, the Finicky Four’s arguments against redevelopment — traffic congestion, density and government subsidizing private ventures — are part of the many misnomers.

Traffic along Old 41 Road is a problem — now. Yes, it’s basically a parking lot every morning and every evening. But let’s not forget that once the six-laning of U.S. 41 is finished and Imperial Parkway (the extension of Three Oaks and Livingston) is completed, people will not need to use Old 41 Road as a shortcut anymore.

Also, when the city drops the speed limit to 20 mph on Old 41, people will not want to travel the road unless they are going there for business.

Then there’s the density debate. The Finicky Four say the current project is too tall, it’s too close to the river, it has too many dwellings. They want affordable housing, a library, or even worse, another park on the 5.2 acres.

But Antaramian’s proposal to put 106 units is actually less dense than what had occupied Imperial River Court, which is now part of Riverside Park, and Bamboo Village. The two mobile home parks contained 146 dwellings, which is 40 more than the new proposal.

Finally, this isn’t a free handout to Antaramian. Representatives for the development company have said they are willing to pick up the $3.5 million the city has spent to purchase the land. Plus, they will pay for extras such as storm drainage and street improvements.

One of the Finicky Four wants Imperial Landing to remain greenspace and become another park. But we have a park, a beautiful $10 million one right across the street. We already have a park that no one uses.

There’s an idea.

Let’s hold this debate at Riverside Park.

There’s plenty of room. No one uses it. And this way the Finicky Four can see the need for redevelopment first hand.

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E-mail Tom Hanson at tahanson@bonitanews.com