Fishermen's Village in Punta Gorda sold for $43M under new ownership

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK)—Fishermen's Village has new owners after a $43 million sale, and locals are hoping the waterfront destination they love stays exactly the same.

For some, it's the shopping, and for others, it's the waterfront. But for just about everyone, Fishermen's Village feels like Punta Gorda.

"We have so many different varieties of stores and restaurants. We have some new restaurants coming in, and it just makes it special," Linda Beni said.

The buildings aren't changing, but the name on the deed is. Beni said the new owners have local roots.

"Change sometimes makes people nervous, but I think this is going to be really, really good for everybody," Beni said.

Neighbors Claudia Upton and Donna Moore hope the people making the new decisions listen to the people who call this place home. 

"Local is extremely important to me in supporting these people rather than big business," Upton said.

"If you look around, all of these people, through the hurricanes, through all of the bad stuff that's happened down here, they're surviving and doing well," Moore said.

There are still reminders of those storms, like the damaged marina. Beni hopes the new owners get the marina back up and running.

"Hopefully, they revitalize it some more and do some more fun things," Upton said.

The new owners said their goal is to build on what already makes Fishermen's Village special, not reinvent it. They said visitors can expect many improvements and more events, and that their first big priority is rebuilding the marina.