United Way asks for rezoning in Harlem Heights

The United Way 211 program in south Fort Myers has outgrown its office space in Harlem Heights and officials met with the Hearing Examiner recently to present their solution — a new building.

The south Fort Myers neighborhood will be seeing changes as soon as the United Way makes room for the growing social services information center and brings more agencies to the area.

“We talked about knocking down a wall and adding some space but simply building an additional building is better,” said Cliff Smith, the president of the United Way and member of the board that made the decision to build a new space.

The current United Way offices in Harlem Heights are housed in an old juvenile detention facility but area residents need more services.

“We just want a different building and then we can give some space to other agencies at the old building,” Smith said adding that the new building will be built in front of the old one on land that is already owned by the United Way.

The plan is to increase space from 6,000 to 9,000 square feet at a cost of about $2 million.

“We anticipate having enough space for new agencies that are developing that the United Way funds,” said Kate English, the attorney representing the United Way at meetings with the Hearing Examiner.

English met with the Hearing Examiner recently to discuss the rezoning of the property that is set for agricultural use.

“We didn’t have the intention of having cattle on the property and we needed to correct the zoning,” English said.

Once the Hearing Examiner approves the change in zoning, the United Way will take their building plans to the Board of County Commissioners who will make the final decision.

The entire process could take as long as a few months.

“We employ a number of people who live in the Harlem Heights area and support a number of agencies that serve that area,” said English adding that the hearing was met positively. “We will be able to better fit those needs.”

Donations sought for cyclists on MS 150

Fitness Together in south Fort Myers is looking for donations to support 15 local cyclists who will ride 150 miles as part of the MS 150 Zimmerman Bike Ride on May 2-3.

The personal training studio has plans to do the ride from Miami to Key West and has already held a silent auction to get the donations flowing.

“This is our first team as Fitness Together and I’m hoping the impact is bigger with more people,” said LouAnn Good, the part owner of Fitness Together and organizer of the event.

Good has participated in the ride for a few years but wanted to extend her ability to raise money for the organization that supports those with multiple sclerosis.

“We wanted to be more involved and this new business gives us the ability to reach more people,” said Good who plans to make the ride an annual event.

Good first became involved with MS while working in Sanibel and having a number of clients with the disease.

“I want to support them through the ride and also just being the trainer for the individual person,”she said.

Fitness Together is helping prepare cyclists for the event, which usually requires at least 10 weeks of workouts. The studio is an upscale facility in which the clients work one-on-one with a trainer.

The riders are looking for donations that will go to the MS Society’s South Florida chapter.