Fort Myers' Midtown to undergo infrastructure improvements later this year

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

People who live in Fort Myers' Midtown have been patiently waiting for years for the area to improve. The city says once this project kicks off, there will be dramatic changes to boost the economy.

"Change is inevitable. Unfortunately, it's just happening at such a slow pace here in this area," said Peter Kramer, who lives in Midtown.

Kramer has lived in Midtown for 20 years, he feels like the area is a forgotten part of Fort Myers, compared to downtown which is a short away night and day.

Peter Kramer has lived in midtown for 20 years, he feels like the area is a forgotten part of Fort Myers, compared to downtown which is just a short walk.

"You don't see any true revitalization going on, we certainly don't have sidewalks or new curbs, we don't even have light posts. It's dark here at night," Kramer said.

The city says revitalizing the area is a little bit difficult due to the outdated infrastructure. Also, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to do.

"We probably have a meeting a week to talk about different aspects of it," said Nicole Setzer, the Fort Myers city engineer.

The city told NBC2 that changes are coming, and this project will have four phases, right now the city is in phase 1, which will focus on the Northeast part near the Fort Myers Fire Department and where the new Fort Myers Police Headquarters will be, including things like wider sidewalks, street lights, and paved roads.

"We want to be very deliberate in those decisions as we go through, and then we use that for the entire Midtown area, so these have to be made upfront, not on a street by street, not on a little piece by piece basis, but the whole the whole site has to be considered," said Setzer.

"It’s going to be new and refreshing and very vibrant and exciting," said Mayor Kevin Anderson.

"Midtown is an extension of downtown is an economic driver for this city, so by extending downtown with Midtown, you’re creating more drive more economic drive," said Anderson.

Setzer wants residents to know once construction starts, they will notice the changes.

"There's going to be a lot of detours, a lot of asking traffic to go one way or the other. We will work with every single property owner who has a developed property and make sure that they have access to their site, but it is going to be messy," said Setzer.

The city says construction will begin later this year.