Cape Coral's Redfish Pointe development halted, preserving wetlands

CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A controversial development proposal in Cape Coral has hit the brakes. The developer behind Redfish Pointe has withdrawn its application to change the land from preserve to mixed use.

Just south of Rotary Park sits Redfish Pointe, encompassing 350 acres of preserved land. For years, there was a push to develop more than 100 acres of it, but that never happened. Now, the situation is shifting.

"It's all wetlands, a high percentage, like 80% is mangroves," said Paul Bonasia, a Cape Coral neighbor who has been fighting to protect Redfish Pointe.

"If they develop that land, then we don't have the barrier of the mangroves," Bonasia said.

Bonasia said these wetlands are more than just scenery; they're protection. He lives on Pelican Boulevard, just north of Rotary Park. After Hurricane Ian, the area around Rotary Park experienced significant flooding.

"I got flooded in Hurricane Ian and many of the residents have the same sentiment that we don't want to increase the risk of being flooded in the future," said Bonasia.

The City of Cape Coral received a letter from the representative of the property owner stating that they were withdrawing their request to make the land mixed use.

"For whatever reason, the representative of the property owner, we got a letter yesterday stating that they were withdrawing their request," said Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter.

"It was a surprise, because I know they've been working on this again from at least 2022 and then in 2024 they actually submitted the application. If you read the letter, there was no real reason given," Gunter said.

For neighbors, this news brings relief.

"That's great. Good news. I don't know why they decided to pull out, but sure glad they did," said Jim Thomas, another Cape Coral neighbor.

The developer has not responded to inquiries for more clarity on why they withdrew the application. The land could still be redeveloped if a new application is filed, or the county could step in through Conservation 2020 to purchase the land and keep it preserved permanently.