Downtown Fort Myers Hotel Breaks Ground

A new Downtown Fort Myers hotel is officially underway, as crews recently ceremoniously broke ground on the Luminary Hotel. The brand new, 12-story hotel is going up on the riverfront, bringing with it more than 240 hotel rooms, a fourth level swimming pool overlooking the Caloosahatchee River and ground level shops. While the hotel will offer its own indoor and outdoor function space, the nearby Harborside Event Center will host the majority of business meetings and conventions for the property. The hotel developer, Mainsail Lodging & Development, will in-turn manage that function space. As part of a deal with the city, Mainsail is constructing the hotel and parking lot, plus renovating the neighboring event center and operating the hotel’s event center complex. The city’s dedicated about $11 million for event center renovations plus another $6 million for the parking garage. The site sits just adjacent to Centennial Park, where a new band shell is planned, plus is already framed by restaurants and shops of the River District. The event center parking lot is where developers gathered to mark the official occasion. The parking lot still needs to be demolished before construction can actually commence, though, and that could take about another month or so. Crews have, however, released new information about the project, including conceptual plans. The signature restaurant will be a fresh seafood establishment called The Silver King Ocean Brasserie, while the property will also include a café named Ella Mae’s Diner. In addition, a tiered culinary laboratory will join the space, as will a rooftop bar. It’s also expected that the hotel will display illustrations from Joshua Noom, a local artist. If all goes as planned, the new hotel and complex should open to the public in 2019. The Luminary in the Fort Myers River District will mark the region’s first Marriott Autograph hotel.