Downtown Fort Myers

Two years ago, artist Leoma Lovegrove lost her world-renowned gallery in Matlacha when Hurricane Ian covered the island with more than 14 feet of storm surge. Rather than simply retire, she decided to relocate to downtown Fort Myers. With the soft opening of her new location on Dean street a mere matter of weeks away, Lovegrove is once again dealing with surge, this time compliments of Hurricane Helene - with her signature buoyant spirit.

Fort Myers celebrated Constitution Day by welcoming 28 new U.S. citizens. In sweltering heat, immigrants realized their long-held dreams of American citizenship in a touching ceremony.

The first augmented reality mural in Southwest Florida was unveiled at Art Walk on January 5th. The Fort Myers Mural Society hopes the mural will appeal to a younger demographic and Southwest Florida's expanding pool of cultural and heritage tourists.

The Florida Native Butterfly Society, a non-profit which has operated in the Buttefly House, a downtown Fort Myers attraction, some might say landmark, since it opened in 2009, closed its doors on Friday. The owners of the property have decided to do something different with the site.

Both directions of U.S. 41 south of downtown Fort Myers will be closed beginning the night of June 2 and continuing through June 3 for utility work on replacing the existing water main.

Fort Myers mayor Kevin Anderson provided an overall economic update for local commercial real estate professionals. For him, the prognosis looks positive.

According to organizer Melissa DeHaven, from designers and models to hair and make-up artists, everyone wants to be part of the 11th Annual Arts Walks the Runway at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers. WGCU's Tom Hall takes you behind the scenes to reveal just how the designers, performers and models are getting ready for this year's two-night fashion show.

Karen Moore, publisher of Southwest Florida Business Today, spoke with Edison Awards Executive Director Frank Bonafilia as they prepare for the third annual global event in downtown Fort Myers.

The Lee County Department of Community Development has reopened the Downtown Fort Myers main office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays with phone availability from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Bruno's of Brooklyn, a popular Italian eatery, will move from its Second Street location sometime early to mid-2024, said Cal Bruno. Cal and his wife Genevieve purchased the building at the corner of First and Dean streets nine days before Hurricane Ian. The building cost $1.2 million, according to Lee County property records.