The results are in from a public survey, and they offer some possibilities about revitalizing McCollum Hall in Fort Myers.

The hall was the center of African-American culture in the Dunbar community in the decades of racial segregation.  

Live jazz music, community meeting space and local food places are the main desires for McCollum's future, based on a survey with 173 responses.

The hall has been shut down for years, and the City of Fort Myers has tried but failed to get private developers to bring it back to life. The hall is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was a regular stop on the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" for black performers. Stars like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington played at McCollum.

On Monday the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) revealed results of the survey.

"McCollum would be small, not competing with downtown, but complementing downtown," CRA Executive Director Michele Hylton-Terry said. "And what it would offer, would be unique."  

The survey consisted of online submissions and three in-person listening sessions held last fall. Hylton-Terry said about 25% of responses came from people who live or work in Dunbar. The rest came from all over the city and region.

The survey finds that respondents do not want bars, nightclubs or liquor stores at McCollum, nor do they want housing on the vacant lot next to the buildings.

The CRA directors, made up of city council members and the mayor, voted Monday to allow an architect to start drawing up plans for McCollum, incorporating survey recommendations.

Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News. He also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University.