CAPE DEVELOPMENT • Rich with wetlands and hard -to-find commercial and industrial land, 2,544 acres moved a step closer to becoming part of Cape Coral on Wednesday. The recommended annexation by the city's Planning & Zoning Commissioners could bring more shopping opportunities and parks, along with property tax relief, to the city's 150,000 residents. The annexation agreement could go before City Council for approval in June. But there is opposition. B1 ALSO FROM NEWS-PRESS.COM Readers' forum: Is The Vue right for the city? DELIVERING YOUR WORLD Subscribe to The News-Press Signup for breaking or daily email news Printer friendly version Email this article

The developer of the proposed downtown Fort Myers condominium The Vue is offering investors their deposits back as the project remains stalled over issues of design and National Park Service approval.

"This thing has dragged on with The Vue so long that holding these people's 10 percent deposits isn't fair," said Ron Throgmartin, president of Indianapolis-based Throgmartin Company Inc.

"That money has no value to me, I can't use it, I can't access it. They can't use it. And sitting here today; I still can't tell them if this National Park Service approval is going to go through."

The 178-unit, 27-story high-rise, with units starting in the $700,000s, was approved by the City Council in 2004 to be built next to Centennial Park, but park service approval is required because a small part of the project would be built on park land. The land was partially paid for by a park service grant in the early 1980s.

Councilman Warren Wright and local residents have raised questions about the deal, and the park service still has not given its blessing.

Throgmartin sent its customers a letter this week saying that "we will try to accommodate anyone who wishes to cancel and obtain a refund."

So far, Throgmartin said, just about everyone wants the deposit returned, although about 70 percent are still interested in buying if the problem with the park service can be resolved.

It's possible that could happen within 90 days, he said, although he added that Wright and other opponents are trying to scuttle the project by raising issues about how The Vue would affect the park.

Wright said it's fine with him if the high-rise is never built.

"I think this is the perfect time for the council to think about purchasing back the property so we can extend the natural boundaries of the park like (planning consultant Andres Duany) first recommended. It's pretty evident that lot is unbuildable and the city should think about acquiring funds to purchase the property back at a reasonable price, certainly not the $4 million Throgmartin paid."

Throgmartin said, however, that he's not backing down even if the park service ultimately rejects his proposal. If that happens, he'll go back to an earlier design that has two towers instead of one and doesn't require the park land to build.

Another issue raised in the letter to the investors is the work done by The Haskell Co., a Jacksonville-based firm that Throgmartin hired to design and build the project.

"Our frustration and exasperation culminated when we realized that it was not feasible to construct the building that had been designed," the letter states.

Throgmartin said the problem was that Haskell designed The Vue as a "tunnel form building" using poured concrete as opposed to the "post tension" structure design that's generally used in Southwest Florida.

"We couldn't find any structural contractors that would even bid the job," he said. "They said this is so complex and out of step with this marketplace" that they wouldn't even attempt it.

Throgmartin said he has fired Haskell and is now talking to Kraft Construction about taking over the job. Haskell officials couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Wright said he thinks the problems of The Vue call into question the viability of future high-rises planned in downtown Fort Myers. "You've got to wonder, is it all built on air? Is it all a house of cards?"