This week brought a notable land trade in North Fort Myers worth examining in detail. LSI Companies brokered the sale of a 223-acre residential property at 18300 Leetana Road, North Fort Myers for $10.5 million, with the property acquired by DRP Greenbough 84, LLC. The site was rezoned in 2019 to RPD for 201 single-family estate lots ranging from a half acre to one acre. Christi Pritchett, CCIM, of LSI Companies represented the deal.

The headline number — $10.5 million for 223 acres — works out to roughly $47,000 per acre, which is in line with broader trends for entitled residential land in Lee County's less-developed northern reaches. For commercial real estate professionals tracking the region, this trade is interesting for several reasons beyond the residential math.

First, the activation of 200-plus single-family lots on Leetana Road accelerates the rooftop count in a part of North Fort Myers that has historically had limited density. New rooftops drive new demand for retail, medical, and service commercial — sometimes immediately along the same corridor, often within a one- to two-mile radius. Owners of commercial parcels along nearby corridors should be paying close attention to absorption rates as the new community comes online.

Second, the buyer profile (an experienced residential developer) suggests a multi-year build-out rather than a flip. That means the residential demand will arrive gradually, giving commercial owners and developers a meaningful runway to plan and execute.

Third, the broader pattern matters. North Fort Myers continues to attract significant land investment despite occasional headlines about the broader residential slowdown. A look at Crexi, LoopNet, and LandSearch listings in the area shows dozens of active commercial and residential land listings ranging from sub-acre infill parcels to development-scale tracts of 30-plus acres, with notable Opportunity Zone parcels among them. The supply is there. The question is which sites can clear entitlement and find capital, and at what pace.

For brokers, investors, and tenants, North Fort Myers in 2026 is best understood as a market in transition — one where infrastructure investment, new residential supply, and select commercial repositioning (including the Shell Factory) are slowly but meaningfully changing the corridor's trajectory. The next 24 months should be telling.

Image credit: Photo by Federico Respini on Unsplash (via Unsplash). Reporting in this article draws on coverage from Cushman & Wakefield, LSI Companies, SVN Commercial Partners, Suncoast Searchlight, WUSF Public Media, FOX 4 Now, the Gulfshore Business Market Trends event, the Eshenbaugh Land Company, Charlotte County Economic Development, the City of Arcadia, the DeSoto County Board of County Commissioners, and public listings on LoopNet and Crexi. Specific transaction details and quotations are attributed in-text.