Why so many Times Square designs floating around FM Beach? And a plea for 'good discourse'

Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe sang about "Peace, Love and Understanding."

These days, Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce's Jacki Liszak has her own tune in the difficult recovery, 21 months since the destruction by Hurricane Ian: Kindness, Community, Togetherness.

This has been her message as Estero Island copes with redevelopment after Ian that's led to heated conversations around Town or in stirred up social media troll fests on various plans, which may be too far removed from an Old Florida vibe treasured by some residents and are largely proposed taller than what they're replacing.

For example, the owners' preliminary designs In the Know shared this past week for Times Square, which previously had been ground level or just above, show up to four floors in spots to accommodate hotel rooms, but that's not as high as proposals circulating for some other Town endeavors. Within about 24 hours of that, various resiliency-focused Times Square concepts involving the Town Council and a federally funded program were released.

Here's what to know about what Liszak's saying, and the latest on what's proposed for Times Square.

'Kindness first. Community second. Togetherness third.'

"Kindness first. Community second. Togetherness third," Liszak said. "I will not stand to see this island community divided because people have strong opinions, and you're rightfully entitled to those. But I will not stand to have this island divided by ugliness, by meanness and by people who maybe just don't agree on a point so they're just going to get ugly. We're not going to do that. We got through this hurricane as a community. We survived as a community. We are rebuilding as a community, and we need to support each other.

"We need to have good discourse. We need to have solid points given back and forth, and we need to give folks who are opening businesses and who are rebuilding their homes ― we need to give them a break as they try to navigate this process. (There) is a balance that can be achieved. I know there's a lot of folks who are scared about too much overdevelopment. Look, I'm not thrilled about giant high-rises or any of that either, but I think there's a way that everyone can work together."

What are services and goods FMB continues to miss since Hurricane Ian?

"It's critically, critically important that we get our businesses back onto the Beach, get them open, get them thriving," Liszak said Tuesday as the Times Square owners' designs were released, and listing the missing needs that a lot of Southwest Florida takes for granted, like legal or medical care. "Without our businesses, many of us won't be able to get our basic goods and services back on the island. The haircut. I had to drive off the island for a haircut today, (What) about a printer? A coffee shop? What about things, like, I don't know, a nail salon?

"Every day every one of us who's living on the Beach has to leave the Beach for a some good or service. A liquor store. (We) have gas on the south but not on the north. Yes. it's really important (to) support these projects that make sense, that are good design, good architecture, that are going to bring things back to the island that we critically need."

How does all this play into tourism and future of FM Beach, Florida?

"They're going to keep coming," Liszak said. "Been a tourist island since the first person stepped foot here. We're going to be a tourist island long into the future. You can't stop it. When they do get here, you want them to have fun. You want them to enjoy themselves. You want them to visit our businesses. You want them to be good neighbors while they're staying among us in the vacation rental homes and you want them to tell everybody what a wonderful place this is to live, what a wonderful place this is to visit.

"You want them to fill the pockets of our workers on the island so they can sustain their families. I can't tell you how critically important this is, (and) it all ties together. You can't have one without the other on a barrier island that is a tourist destination. It's why many of us came here in the first (place.) Nobody just showed up here magically."

In the Know: 'Fun, funky, eclectic.' Times Square designs revealed. How soon could construction begin?

How are Times Square owners handling their proposal with the public?

"We want feedback," said Patrick Vanasse, president of The Neighborhood Company, which is guiding the effort. "We want input. Everybody has to understand that this is just a starting point. (We) want to work with the public. We want to work with the Town. We want to work the county in refining this and hopefully real soon, we will have refined designs, final designs that can go.

"Times Square is a landmark. It's a place we all love. It's very important to this community. (This) is a vision from the property owners, and they understand the importance of Times Square. They know it's a town jewel."

What did Times Square owners have to consider in their plan?

"We have both architectural elements that we wanted to incorporate that were important to the owners and the design group but also functional elements that we had to take care of and regulatory elements that had to be incorporated," Vanasse said. "Another thing to point out is the overall design where we put a lot of effort into articulating the buildings, stair-stepping the buildings, and really making sure (it) is pedestrian-friendly and that the buildings don't look overwhelming. The other thing we did is we obviously had to deal with coastal regulations.

"All the buildings are elevated. However, it was very important to keep that connection with the beach, and the connection with the connecting roadways and adjacent uses. (What) we depict (are) connections to the pier, connections to Lynn Hall, connection to Old San Carlos and the rest of downtown and eventually the bayfront. And connections to Crescent Beach Park.

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What's behind other designs circulating for Times Square?

Times Square, Newton park and other Beach components were main topics last week as part of a series of meetings Wednesday through Friday involving the Town Council and the Coastal Florida Recovery and Resiliency Partnership Project, similar to other federally funded programs after a disaster.

The community-focused Environmental Protection Agency disaster recovery effort (with an aim that includes resilience to future flooding events) hits the cities of Sanibel and Fort Myers next month. One of the key players is urban planner Victor Dover, the founder of Dover, Kohl, & Partners, who has worked with the Town on concepts for Times Square over the years dating to 1998.

What do the 'Recovery and Resiliency' concepts for Times Square show?

"I knew Times Square was going to be kind of a lightning rod," said Dover, who revealed a wide scope of concepts. "We've got a half-dozen of them, just to give you an idea of a range, and these vary according to how tall the buildings are from not so tall or to a little more. These vary according to how much development there is, light or medium or a little heavier. (The) more you visualize the possibilities and alternatives, the more options you have in your head, the easier it's going to be for you to sort through the pros and cons and tradeoffs.

"Some of the business owners there have begun getting together and coordinating their own proposal. This is awesome. This is a good thing. This is exactly what we would hope in any town we're working with."

Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know, one of USA TODAY Network's most read local news columns in the state. Support democracy. Subscribe to a newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 'Kindness, Community, Togetherness.' FMB goals in difficult recovery