Leasing still available at 9299 Center

Only three units are available at the 9299 Center in south Fort Myers. The owner hopes the spaces will be leased as the shop’s remodeling is complete.A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market isn’t the only change coming to the 9299 Center on College Parkway in south Fort Myers.

The nation’s biggest retailer is attracting a lot of attention and center owner Terry Brady hopes it will help attract business to the little space that is still available for lease.

“I’m 87 percent leased and that’s not bad and that’s still with the rest of the center being upgraded,” said Brady, who has owned the center since 2002 and is working to remodel it so it matches the surrounding area.

“At one time it was really tired and it looked like something out out of downtown Detroit.”

And the look Brady said is what makes the remaining retail spaces on the northwest of the building so attractive to potential lessees.

“College Parkway has been referred to as the ‘golden corridor’, the demographics are good and the building is being remodeled,” Brady said referring to the middle section of the center that is getting a facelift. “When you have something fresh, new and sharp, it will be successful.”

Mary Beth Cangiano is the leasing agent for the center and said that the remodel is getting a lot of attention.

“We have a lot of interest from franchises and some start-ups. Restaurants in particular are looking at it,” said Cangiano, the leasing agent for LandQwest Commercial Inc. “We have prospects but nothing has been signed yet.”

Because of negotiations with potential businesses, Cangiano is unable to reveal what restaurants have shown interest.

“It usually takes a month or two for negotiating,” she said about the remaining 6,659 square feet of available space.

The total building is 40,000 square feet and is all general commercial, said Cangiano.

“We have different rates and there are three units left. It’s hard to say when it’s gonna be filled but there is interest,” Cangiano said.

The building’s central location is what Cangiano said is luring businesses to the area.

“The access to it speaks for itself. We have an abundance of parking located right at the front of the Cape bridge and it’s on the crossroads of the county,” Cangiano said. “The signage too is a big deal. You can see it from everywhere.”