An agency of the City of Fort Myers is taking over the planning for how to re-make the historic McCollum Hall.
The city's Community Redevelopment Agency, CRA, now has permission to spend money to get help with possible plans. The CRA is the owner of the property, just east of the downtown area. The CRA bought the hall about 17 years ago.
The CRA will spend up to $42,600 to pay a company to pull together ideas, and make architectural designs, for McCollum. City council members and the mayor, sitting as the CRA Board of Directors, Wednesday approved a contract with local firm Parker, Mudgett and Smith. The vote was unanimous.
McCollum was the Dunbar community's cultural center in the years of racial segregation. The hall hosted many famous black performers, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. McCollum is on the National Register of Historic places. It has sat empty for decades.
Over the last nine years three developers have failed to pull together plans for shops, restaurants and nightlife at McCollum.
The City of Fort Myers and the developers ended the various agreements after there was little or no progress on redevelopment. The council recently decided to have the CRA take over at least the initial planning for the hall's restoration.
Anise Laguerre says she's lived in the city 27 years, and has followed the various attempts to bring the hall back to life.
"A little bit frustrated," she said of her feelings. "Not angry or mad. Just frustrated. They have tried but nothing got done. They really need to hear from us, and then to get it fixed."
The hearing part is what the CRA wants to do next. It has set three listening sessions for members of the public to offer ideas for McCollum.
The first session will be on Tuesday, September 30, at the Quality Life Center on Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. It will start at 6 p.m.
The second meeting will be online on October 9, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. It will be conducted on Zoom.
The third session will be in person, also on October 9. It will be held at Mount Olive AME Church in Dunbar. It will start at 6 p.m.
At the board meeting on Wednesday, directors also authorized CRA staff members to look into the possible purchases of some parcels of land near McCollum.
Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.