Design team previews ‘Innovation Walk’ concept for Fort Myers waterfront and downtown

Design consultants for the Innovation Walk presented a conceptual plan to the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency advisory board that would connect downtown Centennial Park to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, add a boardwalk and pier parks on the Caloosahatchee, and use design elements to celebrate local history and innovation. The project team described a two‑stage process — conceptual planning now, schematic design later — and said it expects to continue public engagement with a follow‑up event in October.

"The innovation walk celebrates the past, the future, and the in between," the presenter said, summarizing the project’s guiding idea. The consultants said they had completed site‑walks and stakeholder meetings, had run pop‑up engagement at Music Walk on Aug. 21 and an Aug. 27 public session, and had collected roughly 250 survey responses that prioritized livability and resilience features such as shade trees, stormwater infrastructure and waterfront access.

Designers proposed two trailheads (downtown and at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates), a phased boardwalk with floating wetlands and educational platforms, and smaller 'points of interest' along West 1st Street served by improved sidewalks and wayfinding. They showed options to create wider public space by gently shifting travel lanes and removing an on‑street parking lane in some segments, and suggested a reduced‑scope option if parking or driveway constraints make the full concept infeasible.

Board members pressed the team on operational details: whether two‑way traffic would be retained on West 1st Street, how existing driveway cuts would be handled, where on‑street parking would be preserved and how the floating boardwalk would be permitted and coordinated with the marina. The team said the current concept keeps two‑way traffic, anticipates coordinating permits (including Army Corps involvement for waterfront structures), and plans further meetings with city staff and private property owners to refine parking and permitting. One public commenter, representing Legacy Harbor Marina, urged additional meetings with private property owners because a proposed drawbridge and boardwalk geometry could affect the marina’s pending expansion permit and near‑term opening.

The presentation was informational only; no board action was required. The project team will refine the concept plan and return with additional graphics and a phased action plan that includes economic development recommendations ahead of the next public meeting anticipated in late October.