Bruno's Italian restaurant recommended to redevelop old Fort Myers firehouse

Bill Smith, Fort Myers News-Press
·5 min read
Rendition of what the Fort Myers fire house at Central Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther KIng Boulevard would look like if owners of a popular Italian restaurant are successful in a bid to redevelop the former city facility.
Rendition of what the Fort Myers fire house at Central Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther KIng Boulevard would look like if owners of a popular Italian restaurant are successful in a bid to redevelop the former city facility.

A Fort Myers city committee is recommending selling the city's former fire station on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the owners of a popular downtown restaurant who would turn the site into a gateway between downtown Fort Myers and the planned Midtown development.

Owners of Bruno's of Brooklyn, an Italian restaurant operating on Second Street downtown offered to buy the property at MLK and Central Avenue for $450,000 to convert it into a multi-use building with a restaurant, retail space and apartments, according to an offer filed with the city. The company is also offering $89,000 for an adjacent parking lot to serve the building.

The firehouse was operated as the center city's main fire station for 65 years, until 2016  when a new fire headquarters was opened around the corner on Jackson Street.

White Rose Holdings LLC,  owned by restaurateurs Calcedonio and Genevive Bruno as the parent company of Bruno's, made the offer for the building and parking lot. The block from Fowler Street to Central Avenue also is the former home of The News-Press and was sold to the city in 2019.

Read more: Downtown Fort Myers fire station: 5 things to know

Opening Day in 2016: Fort Myers opens new Station 1

More: Where the Chefs Eat: Cal Bruno, Bruno's of Brooklyn

Bruno's of Brooklyn's ideas of what the firehouse should look like

The Brunos have some ideas about what the firehouse should look like as the face of Midtown and have submitted a design and detailed plans for construction as part of their application.

"The building has a unique visual identity that, like our McGregor property and the city's downtown, inspires the future while honoring the City's past," Cal Bruno said in a proposal letter to the city. "Our design approach will allow the building to complement and exist cohesively with new developments introduced in the Midtown area and with the established Downtown Historic and River Districts."

Fort Myers firehouse at Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Central Avenue, empty for more than four years would become a restaurant with retails shoppes and apartments on the second floor under a proposal submitted to the city council
Fort Myers firehouse at Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Central Avenue, empty for more than four years would become a restaurant with retails shoppes and apartments on the second floor under a proposal submitted to the city council

The company proposal would include a restaurant and upscale retail shops on the first floor with a dozen studio and one-bedroom apartments on the second floor that would be designed as live/work space.

Estimated cost of construction, as appearing on a bid sheet attached to the proposal, is $4.4 million, not including the cost of acquiring the property.

The project would be in Ward 4, represented by Councilmember Liston Bochette.

"They are certainly capable and responsible," Bochette said. "Their restaurant is an asset to the community."

Mayor Kevin Anderson is not jumping at the first offer from the parent company of the popular Second Street restaurant, saying there is a lot of interest in the building.

"The Brunos are class people," Anderson said. "The city would have to look at two things closely: Is it a solid, valid offer compared to the appraisal price and almost equally as important, what is going to be the use of the building."

A pivotal transition point between downtown and Midtown

For the Fort Myers' fire department, the building was its downtown headquarters for more than 60 years. It was built in 1950 with a major renovation project completed in 1989.

The building site could make it a pivotal transition point between downtown and Midtown, which is planned to stretch from inside MLK toward Edison Boulevard.

The Brunos want to base the operation on the approach the family has taken with its successful restaurant on Second Street as well as its redevelopment of an historic home and adjoining property on McGregor Boulevard, Cal Bruno said in his letter to council members.

"We want to incorporate a similar aesthetic and approach to the fire station, working with the building's mid-century modern architecture to redevelop the property in a manner suitable for present-day needs," the Brunos said in making an offer to purchase the property from the city.

A timetable of about two years has been proposed for the work to turn the long-ignored Fort Myers Firehouse at Central Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard into a restaurant, shopping venue and apartments. Some parts of the structure show vivid signs of neglect.
A timetable of about two years has been proposed for the work to turn the long-ignored Fort Myers Firehouse at Central Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard into a restaurant, shopping venue and apartments. Some parts of the structure show vivid signs of neglect.

City officials have long said they want to spiff up the Midtown area to something of an extension of downtown, but years of talk have yet to produce much action.

In a report to the city council, City Manager Marty Lawing said that the city received only one response to its request for proposals to purchase the building, even with the clear objective of being a transitional area between downtown Fort Myers and Midtown.

The plan will be discussed by the city council next Monday night at the regular city council meeting beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Oscar M. Corbin Jr. City Hall, 2176 Second Street.

Construction is expected to take about two years following the city council agreeing to enter negotiations with Brunos.

In the discussion next Monday, Anderson said, he wants the city council to give attention to how the proposal would function as a gateway to Midtown.

Staff at Bruno's restaurant in Fort Myers at a charity event in 2019. The restaurant opened in 2014 and its owners now want to convert the city fire station at MLK and Central Avenue to a restaurant with upscale shops and live and work apartments.
Staff at Bruno's restaurant in Fort Myers at a charity event in 2019. The restaurant opened in 2014 and its owners now want to convert the city fire station at MLK and Central Avenue to a restaurant with upscale shops and live and work apartments.

The Brunos' proposal for the fire house draws a connection between featured buildings downtown and the city's vision of what Midtown will be like.

The company cited "high quality urban design" and "preserving historic integrity" as cornerstones of its development practices.

A city Solicitation Review Committee made the recommendation to move forward with talks with White Rose, which made the only proposal by a July 1 deadline set by the city. The panel included city Fire Chief Terry McMillon, budget director Christine Tenney, planning director Steven Belken, information technology services director Richard Calkins and public relations manager Liz Bello-Matthews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers firehouse to restaurant: What Italian restaurant owner wants