Cape Coral development Hudson Creek is poised to bring 3,500 new homes

A massive development slated for north Cape Coral could add as many as 3,500 residential units in the form of single-family homes and apartments as well as retail space equivalent to half of Edison Mall.

The mixed-use community development called the Hudson Creek is east of Burnt Store Road and between Jacaranda Parkway North and Chiquita Boulevard and borders large state-owned preservation areas on several sides.

The large undeveloped 1,732 acres in North Cape is filled with wetland and upland, no utilities, and no existing roadway access.

Thursday's special meeting by the Cape Coral Council is the introduction and discussion to decide how the rezoning and master concept plan moves forward, the first of many public hearings and discussions on the topic.

Hudson Creek was previously presented before the city council at a workshop in January 2020.

The development would join other projects like the Seven Islands being developed near Burnt Store Road.

The Hudson Creek property was sold in 2013 as part of a larger deal to GA-Pinnacle Cape Coral, a unit of a privately held New York City real estate investment company.

Cape Coral Councilmember Keith Long said he expects a long discussion.

"This is significant. The size and scope of this rezoning are larger than what you would typically see here in the city," Long told the News-Press. "Rarely are we presented with an opportunity for a rezoning of this scale, so we want to make sure that we do it right."

Alongside the dwelling units and commercial spaces, the zoning allows for a maximum of an 800-bed assisted living facility, a 3,000-student university, and 500 rooms of hotel space in addition to the 575,000 square feet of retail space.

Long said the zoning standards were requested by the developer, so they are not set in stone.

Though, he doesn't anticipate many adjustments.

"I don't anticipate seeing a huge deviation in those, those are maximum standards, so sometimes, that's not the case when you see an actual build-out," Long said.

"But for one reason or another, a developer might not decide to go to that maximum, or maybe it's not economically feasible for them to do that," he added.

Four distinct areas are planned: commercial, mixed-use, single-family, and multi-family.

The residential areas will be gated and have open space and preservation, and a central road will run throughout Hudson Creek with sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides of the road.

Access is proposed from four streets: Burnt Store Road, Chiquita Boulevard, Jacaranda Parkway, and Wilmington Parkway.

Long said his support for the development is still up in the air, as he wants to see what the developer has to say and the rest of the council, too.

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Conditions attached to Cape development

According to a city staff presentation, city staff recommends approval of the zoning and master plan with 30 conditions, including:

• No building permits or site development plans will be issued until the applicant has obtained an off-site utility agreement.

• No certificates of occupancy shall be issued until the buildings are connected to the city water, sewer, and irrigation systems.

• The Spine Road will have a minimum lot width of 50 feet and install a circular driveway.

• The maximum area for boat and RV storage will be 5 acres and available only to residents of Hudson Creek.

• “Building and Construction w/outdoor storage and display” shall have all outside storage behind a 6-foot tall opaque fence or wall made of wood, vinyl, aluminum, brick, or concrete block and stucco.

• Multi-family development will consist of no more than 40% of the parcel and have a minimum density of 10 units per acre.

• All landscaping required for the site shall be maintained in good condition throughout the life of the development.

• Electronic message center signs are prohibited on the site.

• All entrance gates shall be equipped with remote access for the City of Cape Coral Police and Fire Department in case of emergency.

• No on-street parking shall be allowed on central spine road.

• A violation of the MCP or any condition of approval shall be enforceable by all remedies available to the City, including, but not limited to, all code enforcement procedures.

• All conditions imposed on the project shall remain in full force and effect throughout the life of the development unless rescinded or amended by the City.

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Utilities needed at Burnt Store Road

Developing commercial in the northwest part of the city has been difficult because of the lack of utilities.

The council will discuss approval of off-site utilities with GA-Pinnacle Cape Coral at the meeting.

If approved, the developer agrees to extend the city's water and wastewater utilities, acquire the necessary easements and right-of-way, at their expense, and transfer ownership of the off-site improvements to the city.

The developer will receive credits that can be applied to contributions in aid of construction fees and utility capital expansion fees.

Long said he'd be more receptive to the project if the developers can provide utilities continuing north on the Burnt Store Road corridor.

"Because then we would be able to have that commercial corridor, those commercial lots would become live now," Long said. "Because developers aren't going to come to develop on that corridor without utilities."

According to the Utilities Extension Project timeline, the areas alongside the Burnt Store corridor won't be developed until 2025 and 2045.

The city's population is expected to grow to more than 430,000 residents by 2070.

Long also wants to see traffic addressed by the developers.

"I believe the staff has a couple of additional conditions that they're going to be asking the council to impose on the developer that would make them go back and double down on some of the traffic studies that they took to make sure that they were done properly," Long said.

A traffic study impact was conducted and found the project to not have a significant impact on the roadway system because of the low level of existing development in the area.

Long said the new traffic study would help address residents' concerns and that the proper procedures were followed.

"From the council's perspective, I can confidently say that we're going to be approaching this from the perspective of what's the best interests of the resident and the city," Long said.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral to discuss massive housing, retail development Hudson Creek