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Edison Ford Winter Estates presents $5.2M master‑plan and asks city, county for library support
Summary
Mike Flanders, president and CEO of Edison Ford Winter Estates, briefed the Fort Myers Economic Development Advisory Board on a multi‑phase master plan that would rebuild Larchmont Avenue, add visitor and educational buildings and create a small on‑site library; he said the combined city/institution cost is roughly $5.2 million.
Mike Flanders, president and CEO of the Edison Ford Winter Estates, told the City of Fort Myers Economic Development Advisory Board that the nonprofit operates 22 acres, 20 structures and roughly 84 employees and that its annual revenue "oscillates either side of $6,000,000 a year." He said the estate runs under a 99‑year lease with the city and that most operating revenue is retained and reinvested in site maintenance and restoration. "We're pretty separate from the city," Flanders said. "We do have a 99 year lease."
Flanders outlined a 10‑year master plan that, he said, rezoned the property into an "Edison Ford Cultural District" to permit museum, botanical and education uses. He described a first‑phase scope scheduled to begin in 2025 that would rebuild Larchmont Avenue, relocate the main entrance, and construct a new visitor center, an educational building and an addition to the museum. "So it's about a $5,200,000 project," Flanders said, describing the city's infrastructure share at about $2.2 million and the estates' building and participation costs near $3.0 million.
The presentation included revenue and membership details: Flanders said roughly 61% of the organization's revenue derives from admissions and that membership has grown to more than 25,000 people, a change he said helps stabilize income outside the winter season. He also described ongoing fundraising and grant work, including an approximately $80,000 state grant application to reroof the Edison home.
Flanders pressed the board to support a library that Mrs. Edison specified in the deed of gift. He described a 2,500‑square‑foot concept priced at roughly $750,000 and suggested the county's library tax fund — which he said has collected nearly $22 million from Fort Myers property owners over the last decade — could help finance the small on‑site facility. "I'm thinking about a number somewhere around $750,000," Flanders said of the library estimate.
The board asked staff to schedule follow‑up conversations with county and city library administrators and invited Flanders to return for the planned workshop. Staff confirmed the development agreement (dated July 15) spells out each party's obligations and that any final construction will require city approvals under the lease.
