FORT MYERS, Fla. — During Thursday's Fort Myer's City Council meeting, the Economic Development Director, Steve Weather, said that Lee Memorial Hospital could be flattened and turned into something else but the building was built for medical use.
Things like a grocery store, parks, and affordable housing were mentioned during the meeting.
A Lee Health representative was not at the Economic Development Advisory Board Meeting.
As your Fort Myers Community Correspondent, I contacted their team, and they said no decision has been made about what that space will be.
Weathers said the public would have many opportunities to express their ideas about what they want to be in its place.
Lee Memorial Hospital has been in the community for over a century, but it is scheduled to close in 2027.
We all see the construction that's happening now off of Colonial and Challenger Boulevard. That's going to be the new hospital location, which will have a new name: Lee Health Fort Myers.
The goal is to open the new location in the same year the old building closes.
Be sure to stay with us on air and online as we track this transition and keep you informed on when those public repurposing and development brainstorming meetings occur.
