A Bonita Springs company raised the concrete tilt walls three stories high on the first of four Class A office buildings along Cape Coral's Pine Island Road last week. 

McGarvey Development's Mid Cape Corporate Center could have tenants set up and running their businesses as early as the end of September, said Charles Jans, a company vice president.

'Because we are the general contractor on the shell and for the interior finishing we can begin working on the interior before we've finished the exterior,' Jans said.

'Other contractors have to wait for the exterior contractor to finish so that they can go in and complete the interior.'

Class A means that the offices will have added interior touches such as more expensive flooring and architectural details.  It also means that the windows and the building will have a hurricane resistance above 130 mph.

The walls up at the intersection of Hancock Bridge Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard at Pine Island Road will contain 65,000 square feet of office space.

The company plans three other office buildings on its 30-acre campus.  One will be 45,900 square feet and the other two will be 30,600 square feet each.

Counting the already built distribution buildings, which have warehouse storage and office space for companies such as Exel Direct, the complex could employ about 1,000 people when completed.

Exel Direct offers what general manager Felipe Gamez said was a 'white-glove' delivery service.  The trucking delivery company carries office supplies and home appliances for companies such as Office Depot, Whirlpool and Maytag.

The park's location on Pine Island Road - with access to areas to the east, such as North Fort Myers and Fort Myers - helped seal the deal.

'The buildings have the right dock heights for our trucks.  They are new buildings, that counts.' Gamez said.  'The location is more centralized to our business.'

The city increased its commercial development during the past year by more than 700 percent, said Mike Jackson, city economic director.  A great deal of that expansion occurred on Pine Island Road.

'We are experiencing the greatest surge in commercial investment in the Cape in at lease a decade.  The surge is in offices and industrial space,' Jackson said.  'This will allow companies from across the United States to locate in the Cape and for businesses already in the Cape to expand.'

McGarvey also plans to build on about 70 acres to the east of the intersection of Pondella and Pine Island roads.  The East Cape Commerce Park would have light industrial and distribution warehouses.

Cape Coral City Council voted 7-0 to approve that project's application March 26.  Construction started soon after the vote.

'We expect to have buildings done in August and then September and October,' Jans said.  'There is a good market in Cape Coral for this type of 2,000- to 3,000-square-foot range space.'

<< Previous Page