The Plaza at Island Pass opens this month

St. Louis-based The DESCO Group will open its $55 million The Plaza at Island Pass retail center in Fort Myers this month. Located minutes from Sanibel and Captiva Islands, the 252,620-squarefoot shopping center is anchored by a Super Target and will host an additional 10 to 15 stores and restaurants. It features a pedestrian friendly environment with architectural symmetry and an abundance of buffers and landscaping.

"The Plaza at Island Pass will not only provide new shopping convenience to surrounding gated communities, but is ideally situated to capture tourists and residents needing to stock up for a vacation at Sanibel or Captiva," said Mark Schnuck, president of The DESCO Group.

Emerging from a 34-acre site at San Carlos Boulevard and Kelly Road, the shopping center is book-ended by Summerlin Road and McGregor Boulevards, the main feeders to the Sanibel Causeway Bridge.

Designed by Hodges Associates of Dallas, The Plaza is programmed with four retail buildings and four out lots. The 177,394-square-foot Super Target has an additional 21,726 square feet of attached space for specialty shops. In addition, junior anchors are planned for 25,000-square-foot and 19,000-square-foot buildings, with a third 9,500-square-foot building to host specialty retailers. Tenants will range from neighborhood retailers to restaurants and service providers.

Building exteriors are clad in a mix of earth tone brick and stucco and accented by black, champagne and red metal awnings. The center has extensive landscaping and sidewalks plus parking for 1,024 vehicles.

Naples-based GATES Builders, Inc. is the contractor.

In conjunction with the project, DESCO widened portions of San Carlos Boulevard and Kelly Road to facilitate traffic flow and created a signalized entrance at San Carlos and Majestic Palms Boulevards.

Tim McCormick of The DESCO Group is handling leasing and can be reached at 1-888-762-5501 or 314-994-4447.

DESCO, based in St. Louis, Mo., provides corporate real estate services, development, brokerage, property management and construction management services. Active in 15 states, its 50-member staff services a portfolio of 174 retail, office and industrial properties totaling more than 12 million square feet