New construction on SWFL's Alico: What are they building? Latest places to work, live, eat

The now amazingly active Alico Road corridor has come a long way from its farming roots.

So remote that for the longest time it was an area that wasn't part of regular conversations in Southwest Florida. In newspaper archives going back more than 110 years, the earliest mention of the once-desolate road in The News-Press came May 25, 1965 when the brakes failed on an earthmover and the driver jumped off and broke his leg, just before a "bump" with a train, as it was reported. This also might describe Muhammad Ali's "phantom punch" that day knocking out Sonny Liston in the first round of their notorious heavyweight rematch in Lewiston, Maine.

Rutty Alico, which seemingly has never been the smoothest ride, came up again later that year in a County Commission discussion as part of why farmers were fleeing Lee for Collier County. There's no point in growing vegetables and flowers if they're going to be shaken up and bruised on the way to market on the often unsuccessfully graded road, which is "a headache," Commissioner Herman J. Hastings said. But the county didn't have cash to "hard surface" it and others for $3 a foot minimum or what amounted to $79,200 for five miles of Alico.

"We are losing an industry," Commissioner Bruce J. Scott said, quoted in an article that happened to have an adjacent weekend special ad touting four dozen cracked eggs for $1. "They (growers) assure me if we have the roads, they will come back to Lee County."

But here we are six decades later, and agriculture continues to disappear while major businesses ― lots and lots of businesses ― rapidly sprout on Alico. Here are seven things to know about newly emerging places to work, live, eat and drink in that commercially flourishing Fort Myers corridor, which also is on tap to be extended to Lehigh Acres.

1. How many businesses are rising at the moment in Alico Trade Center?

This month, construction begins "of Beacon Roofing Supply’s modernized 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility," said Mark Coon, vice-president of Seagate Development Group's commercial division, a driving force on the avenue with its Alico Trade Center and numerous other nearby endeavors. Beacon, officially known these days as Beacon Building Products, is just the latest of new arrivals crowding the I-75 exit where the dust flies from all the activity.

Other new center projects in the works at the moment with plenty of square footage: 40,000 square feet for California Closets; 16,000 for rescue truck specialists Ten-8 Fire & Safety; 25,000 for Trend Moving and Storage; and 8,000 for Velocity Engineering Services of SWFL.

In the year since Rice Insulation & Glass became the first to set up in 35,000 square feet, the 40 acres of the trade center have gone quickly, Hurricane Ian be damned, with room for maybe two more to have new digs constructed.

"Very soon, we will have sold out all of our lots and parcels at the Alico Trade Center, which is a significant milestone," Seagate CEO Mark Price said this past week. "This exemplifies the desire and excitement for companies ― large and small ― to locate and build on our Florida west coast."

And along or just off the Alico corridor the past two years or so, with Seagate's guidance.

That includes: 150,000 square feet for NeoGenomics headquarters; 60,000 square feet for Scotlynn USA Division corporate headquarters; 42,000 square feet for Conditioned Air's operations center; and 1.5 million square feet for the Eastlinks and Westlinks business parks further north, closer to Southwest Florida International Airport.

More:In the Know: Seagate helping move development east; Safari Jane question leads to reminiscing

2. When can you move into new Three Oaks rental housing off Alico?

But the folks working at all these places need a spot to sleep if they don't want to commute the lovely long distances that come with living in Southwest Florida.

As my colleague Samantha Neely reported in April, the 264-unit Centro Apartments promise luxury dwellings that are "meticulously designed, with impeccable finishes and unmatched amenities" with prices starting at about $2,100 monthly near the Alico and Three Oaks Parkway junction.

One update since her report is that Centro is now pre-leasing for August occupancy.

3. After 37 countries, what company parked its first Fla. location on Alico?

After more than 400 locations in 37 nations since its founding in 1959, Ziebart International Corp. this year brought its first car window tinting store in Florida to 7131 Alico Road, about two miles west of I-75.

“The time has finally come to have Ziebart in Florida, and we are very excited for this new location," said Jason Theisen, vice president of franchise operations. "Every car down here, everyone needs window tints. (We) definitely have the potential for growth, not only this area but all of the rest of Florida. We'd love to see multiple stores down here."

Family-owned franchisee The Mattiacio Group announced its acquisition of the local site this past week to add to its nine in upstate New York as part of southern expansion goals.

“While we continue building off the success we’ve found in New York, we’re excited to take all we’ve learned to grow the brand’s presence here,” CEO and Founder Tony Mattiacio said, noting what helped drive their firm south: "That unforgiving Florida sun."

Yeah, tell me about it.

4. What fastest growing automaker in the world found its way to Alico?

That's not the only auto-related enterprise wandering onto Alico.

Tesla is at the beginning of a 10-year lease signed in late 2022 for its 44,800-square-foot regional service center in the Gulfcoast Industrial Campus at 16180 Lee Road, off Alico and the interstate, and about a half-mile north of the Amazon compound that debuted in 2021. It's 4.5 times bigger than its original Colonial Boulevard setup.

On Florida's west coast, Tesla also has service centers in Tampa and Sarasota. "It's a big need," Cushman and Wakefield's Gary Tasman told my colleague, Laura Layden, after helping negotiate the lease. "You can just drive around. There are a lot of Teslas."

How many? In 2021, there were 107,000 plug-in electric vehicles registered in the state, 54% of which were Teslas. In Florida, 0.5% of all vehicles were electric that year, up from 0.1% in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The New York Times and Fortune reported Tesla was the fastest-growing major carmaker.

5. Speaking of vehicles, when does the 8-food-truck park debut off Alico?

About 1,000 feet north of Twin Peaks at the Ben Hill Griffin Parkway intersection, Backyard Social envisions eight food trucks, some of which are also among the nine at Celebration Park in Naples including on its list, Gigi Gourmet, Say Cheese and Gyros2Go.

But this is no ordinary 2-acre complex that its owners said Wednesday was slated to open by early fall and can serve up to 1,000 folks at a time in flashy pink, light blue and green surroundings at 16371 Corporate Commerce Way.

They boast of a "robust cocktail menu" at their bars, live entertainment stage, seating for several hundred, five fire pits and outdoor and indoor gaming, such as four lanes of Duckpin bowling, three lanes of steel tip darts, cornhole, shuffleboard and foosball.

This latest eating and drinking option comes on top of changes occurring on the other side of Alico at the Gulf Coast Town Center, which, for example, has brought in the likes of Hooked Island Grill that had its Matlacha restaurant destroyed by Ian.

6. What's 500,000 square feet off Alico and slated by the end of 2023?

By Cushman's standards, that's the fifth largest industrial building in Southwest Florida on its list of projects under consideration, construction or already completed.

Look for the 481,933-square-foot speculative structure from HSA Commercial at 16500 Oriole Road near the Alico exit of I-75 by the end of the year.

More:In the Know: What to know about Amazon's complex and other rising SWFL sites

Chicago-based HSA officially entered the Southeast region of the country this year with the ongoing assembly of the so-called Highland Commerce Center of Fort Myers.

“With industrial vacancy in Southwest Florida at a record low, we were eager to bring our experience and expertise to the region to meet the strong demand for modern warehouse space,” HSA CEO Robert Smietana said. “This new facility meets the critical need for all types of industrial use, from storing and distributing construction materials to support rebuilding after Hurricane Ian to servicing the accelerating demands of the region’s e-commerce activity.”

Features include 36-foot clear heights, 96 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 181 parking spaces, 138 trailer spaces and a building depth of 500 feet.

“Industrial facilities of this size are rare along the Gulf Coast and are needed to service the region’s large population centers and growing number of national retailers,” said Tim Thompson, an HSA executive vice president. “In addition to commencing work on Highland Commerce Center of Fort Myers, we are actively seeking new sites for industrial development throughout Southwest Florida.”

7. When will Alico connector project tying to Lehigh come together?

County roadwork plans show extending Alico northeast about nine miles to State Road 82 near Sunshine Boulevard, which would provide Lehigh Acres commuters access to I-75 further south than they do now and certainly opens up a whole bunch of land to fresh development.

The connector project schedule calls for starting that work in the first quarter of 2026, with completion three years later.

If finished by 2029, that means it would have taken 20 years for it to come together from when the county did its 2009 alignment study. The plan includes various wildlife crossings.

Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com), who grew up in Southwest Florida, writes In the Know as part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Support Democracy and subscribe to a newspaper.