Fort Myers post office site for sale; city interested as Canadian owners ask $8 million

Fort Myers wants to put its stamp on the site of the United States Post Office site downtown, pondering whether to buy potentially lucrative property.

The structure, at 1350 Monroe St., has not been used for mail since Hurricane Ian ripped through the city 16 almost months ago.

The Fort Myers City Council has asked City Manager Marty Lawing to schedule a workshop so that it can map strategy for the future of the property.

It is on the market, with an $8 million asking price, for possible development of a 12-story building. The agent representing the Canada-based owners says the property would be best positioned as a mixed-use building to take advantage of its coveted section of downtown Fort Myers.

More: Two Hilton brand hotels, a block from each other, have big plans for downtown

More: Fort Myers’ new amphitheater: Everything you need to know about the downtown concert venue

The property borders Centennial Park next to the U.S. 41 bridge across the Caloosahatchee River, near the Luminary Hotel and Caloosa Sound Amphitheater.

Fort Myers city zoning code provides for a 12-story tower at the site, so the ultimate developer would not have to go through an arduous series of public hearings.

The current post office is a sprawling, one-story building that has decayed considerably since it was dedicated in 1964.

Phil Fischler, of the Fort Myers-based Fischler Property Co. that is marketing the site, said redeveloping it is important to downtown and could combine a variety of uses, including potential hotel and business use.

"It's irreplaceable, it is next to Centennial Park and next to the Caloosahatchee Sound Stage," Fischler said. "It is the last one."

The property would nearly complete an era of modern construction along the river.

Downtown Fort Myers post office not active

The lobby of the Monroe Street office is lined with re-installed post office boxes, but postal customers cannot pick up their mail at the city's main post office.

They must either switch to home delivery or pick-up the day's mail at the airport office at Page Field on North Airport Road.

The downtown post office is no longer listed on the official government list and the General Services Administration list of postal branches now refers to the post office near Page Field as the main office.

The postal service building is owned by a Toronto based investment company, which has a couple of years to go on the lease.

'It may make senses for the city to acquire'

Fort Myers city leaders, from the council to the manager's office, have said they are interested in exploring buying the property for municipal purposes or to be in the driver's seat to guide further development.

"It is a fairly attractive property, we talked once we realized it would be on on the market," Lawing said. "We, the staff, kind of came to the same conclusion that it may make sense for the city to acquire."

The current Toronto-based owners rent the site to the Postal Service for $7,590 per year.

One potential use is using the property to create more downtown hotel space, which would help business at the Calusa Sound Stage, a convention center across Monroe Street from the post office property, by making more hotel rooms available to join with those at the Luminary Hotel.

In addition to developers who may find the site a good location for development across from a park and the Caloosahatchee River with the right to build to 12-stories, if the city could buy and hold the property until the right buyer comes along. The city would be in a position to exercise control over what is built on the site.

Councilmember Fred Burson, Ward 5, suggested that the city control what becomes of the parcel. The building is surrounded by large parking lots that are the property of the city.

"We own the other half of the block, which they have been using for a parking lot," Burson said. "I think it behooves us to combine at a fair price to purchase it and then we would own the entire block."

The city manager has examined the potential of the site.

The Fischler firm is already involved in discussions with local developers.

Fischler refers to the parcel where the post office was built nearly 60 years ago as "ideally positioned" and suitable for up to 12 stories of mixed use development in an area with Centennial Park, Harborside Event Center and the new Marriott Autograph Hotel nearby .

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers post office could be replaced by major development