Notes from Charlotte County

The following LINK reflects statistics from the Charlotte County area Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and reflect a rollowing twelve months of data regarding listing counts, marketing time and pricing averages.  The Tables below are segregated into the following property types: HOMES, CONDOS and VACANT LAND.  The data is presented in a rollowing twelve months format.

Rollowing 12 month MLS STATS

The following "state of the City" letter, written by Punta Gorda Mayor Larry Friedman, was originally published in the January 2008, addition of "Inside Punta Gorda" magazine. It has been republished here with permission:

As expected, 2007 was a busy and productive year for Punta Gorda and Punta Gordans. Truth be told, for the couple of years leading up to Hurricane Charley and its immedi­ate aftermath, City government had increasingly been per­ceived as incapable of completing projects and operating in the dark. Hard work by City staff and Council, and an increasingly aware and involved citizenry, has resulted in a turn-around in perceived accom­plishment and openness of communication. The following is meant as a cursory review of this year’s accomplishments and an overview of what’s in store for 2008.

For perhaps the first time ever, last November saw a 60% turnover on City Council. The three “rookies” and our relatively new City Manager have helped precipitate a new can-do spirit, a reemphasis on planning and meeting schedules and, most importantly, a total willingness to communicate and share information with every stake­holder. From weekly e-mailed reports and newspaper columns to Town Hall meetings and televised Council meetings, accomplishments as well as setbacks are no longer a surprise to our informed public.

This year has seen the completion of several major undertakings and the commencement of many oth­ers. After years of false starts, Punta Gorda at last celebrated ribbon cuttings for its Laishley boat ramp, Marina and Park. A number of new restaurants and retail/commercial buildings have opened downtown and throughout the City. In the Trabue Woods area, the St. Mary’s Primitive Baptist Church was beautiful­ly and totally rebuilt, and the Punta Gorda Mural Society has success­fully begun to replace many of our destroyed murals both downtown and on the east side.

Our Government Center parking facility was completed on schedule, providing additional downtown parking and overflow capacity for the new Event Center and setting a visual standard for future outdoor parking facilities. Enjoying the best relations with the Charlotte County Commission in recent memory, City Council obtained concurrence for the Event Center design proposed by Team Punta Gorda and championed by most citizens, as well as County commitment to finally restore the long-neglected old courthouse.

And after years of fruitless complaining about downtown flooding, re­lief is finally on the horizon. The City has received a FEMA grant of $3.2 million to initiate the study, design, permitting and initial construc­tion of a flood mitigation system. Analogously, after years of bemoaning a lack of affordable-workforce housing, five separate projects are now under construction, ranging in size from several units to large com­plexes with on-premise clubhouses and day care facilities. These efforts were facilitated by the Council’s approval of legislation to defer impact fees and transfer allowable densities.

SUNLOFT CENTER

One of the most publicized and important, yet least understood sub­jects, continues to be the availability of potable water. While perhaps surprising to many, water represents a quiet success story for Punta Gorda, and a tribute to good and timely planning. Despite 2007 be­ing the driest on record, we still had sig­nificant reserves by the onset of our rainy season. Our plant capacity has just been increased by 25%, and we enter the dry season with our reservoir and active stor­age wells full. More importantly, with the purchase of additional acreage adjacent to our water plant, we are positioned for the construction of a 1 billion-gallon off-line reservoir and a 50% plant capacity increase by 2013. This should care for our needs for at least 20 years and render Punta Gorda virtually “drought-proof,” with the added security of res­ervoir redundancy.

Our annual strategic planning process is about to begin its third iteration, summarizing and prioritizing our goals for the coming year and serving as a mechanism by which to appraise our City staff, City Manager, and yes, City Council as well. One of our primary goals has been attracting more businesses, with the attendant increase to our commercial tax base. To this end, 2007 saw the creation of Enterprise Punta Gorda and our selection as a Florida “Main Street” city. Driven by the results of our commissioned business development study, these entities promise to stimulate the attraction and retention of commercial ventures throughout our City.

Another obvious means to increase our business tax base is through annexation. In concert with our annex­ation criteria and priorities, the Palm Automotive and Mamma Nunzia business enclaves along US 41 have been annexed into the City. Dwarfing this effort, the largest-ever regional project within Charlotte County, The Loop, is poised to begin construction during 2008. With 1.2 million square feet of retail space, two ho­tels and 500 residential units in a self-contained, pe­destrian-friendly environment, this promises to be a boon to the entire region. Proudly, through the efforts of staff and Council, this complex may likely become part of the City of Punta Gorda during next summer. And once The Loop is incorporated within our City, its proximity to the Jones Loop business corridor, and the Airport beyond, will offer interesting potential strate­gic plan initiatives.

So what does lie ahead for 2008? Let’s first take a down­town virtual tour, by “standing” in the middle of the City Marketplace property and looking southwest. We are first taken by the four-story, myriad façade Sunloft development, which will be completed in May and of­fer restaurants/retail, office space and resi­dential units. Moving clockwise, we arrive at the new Charlotte County Events Cen­ter, three times as grand as its predecessor, on schedule to complete in September. Next is the Harbor Inn complex, with its Sheraton Hotel due to break ground early in the year and be completed during 2009.

Crossing US 41 North, we land at Laishley Park, where Phase II will complete by yearend. A second building will contain ground level retail shops and the Crab Shack restaurant above. An extended Nesbit Street, additional parking, two outdoor pavilions/markets, and an interactive fountain will complement the existing Park/Marina facilities, and optimize the synergies offered by the harbor, ma­rina, park and downtown.

As we cross the street from the Park, we immediately come to the new Wyvern Hotel, a 63-room boutique hotel now well under construction and due to open by early 2009. We complete our circular journey behind the restored old courthouse, as we observe the City’s new Herald Court Parking Garage, due to break ground in the second quarter and be com­pleted early the following year. Accommodating almost 400 cars, with re­tail along most of its ground level, it will not look like a garage, and should facilitate the evolution of a vibrant downtown to the south and east.

WYVERN HOTEL

But so far, our tour has merely covered downtown. There will be lots more happening throughout our City. During 2008, our long coveted Harborwalk will be extended from the City’s eastern boundary through Laishley Park, and under the US 41 bridges, including the Harbor Inn and Event Center waterfronts. Thus, by yearend 2008, the only Harbor­walk waterside void from Fisherman’s Village to the eastern City limits will be across the Best Western property; City staff is already in discus­sion with their principals for this final link. And our “linear park” – a pe­destrian-bicycling path running diagonally from the Fisherman’s Village Harborwalk terminus to the restored train depot at US 41 – will see its first phase completed, after years on the proverbial drawing board.

On the east side of town, the final phases of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard streetscape project will complete. To the south, our new Fire Station #2 will be constructed, and by the US 41 convergence the new 1,400-seat Sacred Heart Church will open for worship. And, with a bit of optimism, we may see construction begin on an attractive mixed-use development on the site of the former Public Works complex at Henry/Shreve/Olympia. Finally, after more than 15 years of waiting, August will see the onset of the reconstruction of Aqui Esta Boulevard, a pri­mary evacuation route from Punta Gorda Isles.

Yes, we’re in the midst of some exciting times. Lots of progress has been made, and many more ribbon-cuttings and celebrations are in the wind, albeit not without the occasional obstacle or disappointment. But truth be told, our hard working, capable staff and well-intentioned Council could never realize the aforementioned plans and accomplishments by themselves. No, it’s taken an understanding, informed, involved and supportive citizenry to change the very spirit and philosophy of our City. It has been your “we’re in this together” attitude and “can-do” ethic that have facilitated our past successes, and which will bring our future plans to fruition. So thanks to all citizens of Punta Gorda! Let us enjoy these exciting times – together.

On Behalf of the Punta Gorda City Council & City Manager,

Larry Friedman, Mayor