Inside Bimini Basin East, battered neighborhoods are on the brink of a makeover.
Cape Coral City Council approved plans to demolish 43 properties, and part of their plan is to redevelop the land. The city bought nearly 20 acres of land to redevelop; demolition is expected to cost more than $1 million.
One of the houses planned for the teardown has red, white and blue paint on the wall and has been there for 13 years. Now, the owner of a business helping veterans there is being forced to pack up.
"The city's been really good to us. So we did a tribute back to them. But now they've only given us 60 days to leave after the purchase. And they purchased it months ago. We should have had a little bit more heads-up," Adrian Costa said. "It's the worst time of year to give somebody 60 days to uproot a business or even a residence."
Letika Moore, who lives a street over on Manor Court, has been lucky enough to find a new place.
The city is giving tenants until the end of January to be out.
"I wish they would have told me before I signed my lease that, hey, this property is in the middle of being sold. Do you still want to move? And I said, no, forget it. I'll find somewhere else," Moore said. "That way, I don't have to worry about moving next year. They didn't do that. They took my money for a whole year. And I just think that that was a slap in the face."
RTS of Cape Coral is the property management company a lot of the tenants signed leases with.
NBC2 called, messaged and went to their office but couldn't get a hold of the company for comment.
The city of Cape Coral said residents were given plenty of notice to prepare for the transition.
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