Residents raise concerns over Bimini East development proposal in Cape Coral

At last night’s Cape Coral City Council meeting, the city attorney requested to move the public hearing for the Bimini East development to Oct. 7, leaving residents waiting to voice their concerns. “There’s got to be some middle ground. They need to listen. They need to build what the reason they, they need to build at a pace. They, they bought that land because they’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the island, because it was distressed for a long time,” said Tony Adinolfi, a Cape Coral resident and former engineer from New York City. Adinolfi, who has experience with development projects, believes the $500 million Bimini East project is moving too quickly and adding too much to the area. “I’m come from New York, this is the most congested place I’ve ever lived. And it’s gotten worse when we have to consider leaving because how congested it’s gotten. But we have a beautiful home and a beautiful location, and we live in paradise here,” Adinolfi said. After waiting hours to comment at the council meeting, Adinolfi expressed frustration about the process. “But if you sit there for 2 to 3 hours because they put us at the end of the meeting, it’s not by accident. They don’t want people to have a voice,” he said. Crown Development’s president said they are taking suggestions from past meetings into consideration as the plan evolves. Renderings for Bimini East include two hotels, parking garages, apartments, townhomes, a police substation, and restaurants. Families like Samantha Nieberg’s, who enjoy the open space at Four Freedoms Park, want the area to remain as it is. “We’re just saying goodbye to our wildlife or saying goodbye to letting our children roam around like they should. And I just think it’s sad. They have to really grow up in that, that kind of world that we’re more worried about industrial buildings than our parks,” Nieberg said. Crown Development said they will continue to activate the waterways in downtown Cape Coral. The public hearing for Bimini East is now scheduled for Oct. 7, when the council will decide on approving the development agreement. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.