After overcoming a hurricane, a pandemic, and a development process that spanned almost a decade of back and forth with the community, TPI Hospitality opened Margaritaville Fort Myers Beach at the end of last year, completing a long-held goal of bringing the Jimmy Buffet-inspired hotel to downtown Fort Myers Beach.
The resort’s history begins in earnest in 2014, when Wilmar, Minnesota-based TPI Hospitality began acquiring land in the city — located on a thin barrier island in southwest Florida — that had struggled since the 2004 impact of Hurricane Charley.
After a number of acquisitions around the neighborhood, TPI proposed Grand Resorts, a redevelopment that included three hotels, a 1,100-unit parking garage and a half mile sea-wall. Community feedback would lead to reduced density and height with a single brand and hotel.
For some, the changes weren’t enough, and between 2019 and 2020, lawsuits were filed to prevent the resort’s development but they were eventually dropped or ruled in favor of Fort Myers Beach and the plan from TPI Hospitality.
Despite the legal challenges at first and the impact of the pandemic in 2020, Margaritaville Fort Myers Beach managed to secure financing late in 2021—and while Hurricane Ian may have led to a pause in construction, but no damage to the worksite — the $200 million, 7.25-acre resort, complete with its 254 guestrooms and six restaurants, finally opened in December 2023 at 251 Crescent St.
The project was selected to receive a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for best commercial development for Southwest Florida, according to an independent panel of judges familiar with the local market.
About the Project: Margaritaville Fort Myers Beach is a $200 million resort with 254 guestrooms, six restaurants and indoor and outdoor conference and event space developed by TPI Hospitality.
What the Judges Said: “As visitors return to the area, this project gives them a trusted brand and an additional place to stay at the beach. This project has also overcome a great many hurdles and an elongated development timeline to get completed,” said Dana Brunett, director of business development at the Lee County Economic Development Office, calling the resort an “impactful project at a time when Fort Myers Beach needed it most.”
They Made it Happen: Tom Torgerson, co-cEO and chairman of TPI Hospitality.