For almost four years, the shorthand for Fort Myers Beach has been "still rebuilding." That phrase has done a lot of work, and it has also flattened a lot of detail. If you live on the island, the summer of 2026 is not another quiet chapter in that story. It is the specific season when the temporary scaffolding of food trucks, pop-ups, and empty lots starts giving way to permanent buildings with foundations and grand openings on the calendar.
The map of where islanders eat, gather, and run errands is shifting again, and it is shifting in a direction most residents have not yet had to think about: from the south end back toward Times Square.
The thesis, in one line
Summer 2026 is the first season since Ian where the south end is functionally full and the north end is finally under construction. The center of gravity is moving north again, and the timeline is short enough to plan around.
The south end fills in first
Santini Plaza and the Key Estero shopping plaza have carried an outsized share of everyday island life since 2022. This summer they get denser. South Beach Grille in The Santini Plaza has a planned grand opening of July 15th, with a possible soft opening before that. For anyone who remembers the pre-Ian south end, this is one of the more anticipated returns. South Beach Grille was one of the most popular hangouts for residents and visitors on the south end.
A few doors over, quick-serve options are coming online at the same time. Jersey Mike's, also in the Key Estero Shopping Plaza, has now set a tentative opening date of July 15th. Later in the season, the same plaza gains a full-service dinner spot: the owners of Sol Tequilla, formerly Mr. Tequilla, are shooting for a September 2026 opening, owned by the same family with a name change.
If you have been driving off-island for a weekday lunch or a late dinner, the calculus changes by mid-July. Three additions in a single corridor is not a trend, but it is enough to rebuild a habit.
Times Square crosses a threshold
The bigger story sits at the north end, where the change is qualitative rather than quantitative. For three years, Times Square has run on tents, trailers, and patience. That model has an expiration date this summer.
For the first time since Hurricane Ian erased Times Square from the map, Fort Myers Beach has approved a new permanent building for the area. The project is a three-story ice cream shop with residential space above. The location will read familiar to anyone who used to walk Old San Carlos: the plans sit about 100 feet from the former pier and across from Lynn Hall Memorial Park at 50 Old San Carlos Blvd., with an open first floor housing an ice cream vending truck concept, Meli's Ice Cream Shop. Construction could begin this summer, with an opening anticipated in early 2027.
One building is not a downtown. But the approval breaks a logjam that has held every other property owner in place. FEMA regulations, flood elevation requirements, and stricter zoning rules have made it far more difficult, and expensive, to reconstruct what once stood there, and many property owners have waited, unsure whether rebuilding was feasible at all.
A second, larger proposal is now in the queue at the same corner. Shlomo Melloul has put forth plans for a three-story building on two Times Square parcels, which would include a rooftop bar, retail space and restaurant, on two parcels at the corner of Times Square facing the Fort Myers Beach Pier, looking out over Lynn Hall Memorial Park and the Gulf. The developer's own framing is worth reading carefully, since it points to the scale of what may follow: the plans refer to the ground floor infrastructure to support street vendor space as part of helping to reestablish the "funky street bazaar character that historically defined this district."
And then the piece every island resident is watching. According to signage posted by Lee County on Fort Myers Beach, construction on the pier is expected to begin in the summer of 2026, once federal permits are approved, with a potential completion in the summer of 2027. The project is funded in part by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Lee County Tourist Development Council. The Army Corps review is still the gating item, so treat the start date as a target rather than a promise.
Away from Times Square proper, a separate three-story project is moving from paper to site work. The three-story building will be built on the site of the city's Times Square area, and the property owner, Persaud Properties FL Investment, which has owned the site since 2014, originally wanted a 31-room hotel, but a negative response from the Fort Myers Beach Town Council last year led to the abandonment of that particular plan.
A summer calendar you can actually plan around
Rather than another paragraph of dates, here is the north-to-south picture as it stands right now:
| Project | Location | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Pier reconstruction | Times Square waterfront | Construction start summer 2026, ~1-year build |
| Meli's Ice Cream Shop building | 50 Old San Carlos Blvd (former Kilwins) | Construction start this summer; open early 2027 |
| Melloul three-story mixed-use | Times Square corner facing pier | Plans submitted, under review |
| Sunset Beach resort project | Times Square area | Construction start early July |
| South Beach Grille | Santini Plaza (south end) | Grand opening July 15 |
| Jersey Mike's | Key Estero Shopping Plaza | Tentative July 15 |
| Sol Tequilla | Key Estero Shopping Plaza | September 2026 |
Read the column of dates and you can see the shape of the season. July is a south-end month. August and September are when heavy equipment starts appearing near the pier. Every neighbor block that has been quiet since 2022 is about to get louder, in one form or another.
Where the island still eats in the meantime
Between grand openings, daily life on the island still runs on the interim setup that has kept things going since Ian. A few anchors worth naming:
- Mom's Restaurant. Now operating as a food truck at its original Estero Blvd. location, Mom's continues to serve its signature comfort food while plans for rebuilding are underway. Highlights include the Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwich, the Chicken Salad Biscuit, the Meatloaf Grilled Cheese, and Mom's famous cinnamon rolls.
- Lah De Dah Beach Bar & Grill. A lively beachfront spot at Margaritaville Beach Resort, useful when out-of-town family lands and you need a table with a view without making a plan.
- JobuFest. If you are used to the usual site, note the change: JobuFest on May 30, 2026, is being relocated to The Whale due to ongoing construction at its usual venue.
The pattern here matters. The island's temporary food-truck model was never intended to last, and this summer is the first time you can feel it starting to age out. Since the storm, Times Square has survived on temporary uses. Ice cream trailers, outdoor counters, and provisional seating have kept foot traffic alive, but they were never intended to be a long-term solution. The newly approved building replaces that temporary model with something fixed and intentional.
What this summer actually changes for residents
Three practical shifts to hold in mind as August turns into fall.
First, plan your errands around the south end for the next few months. If a July lunch on-island has felt like a coin flip since 2022, that changes on the fifteenth.
Second, expect noise and detours to migrate north. Pier work and the Meli's site sit within a short walk of each other, and Old San Carlos Boulevard is going to feel different by late summer. If your walk to the beach passes through that block, build in extra time.
Third, the shape of the rebuild is now visible in a way it was not last year. Town staff have described the direction plainly: Times Square is being envisioned with more mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail and residences above, progressing gradually under a comprehensive plan aimed at creating a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly district. Ground-floor retail with an apartment or two above is the template that just got approved. Whatever comes next along Old San Carlos will likely rhyme with it.
None of this makes the island finished. It does mean that "still rebuilding" stops being a single sentence and starts being a schedule. If you have been waiting for a signal that the north end is coming back on its own terms, this is that signal.
If you own on the island and are trying to think through what this stretch of construction means for your block, your building, or a potential move within Fort Myers Beach, William Ross is happy to talk through it in plain language. Let's connect.
