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37-569: Toll By Plate (w/o LeeWay/SunPass/Interoperable Transponders): $ 5 The Cape Coral Bridge is a bridge located in Southwest Florida . It spans the Caloosahatchee River connecting McGregor and Cape Coral . It is made up of two parallel fixed spans, each 3,400 feet (1,000 m) long. The original span opened for traffic on March 14, 1964, with one lane in each direction. In 1989, a second parallel span opened south of

74-698: A customer, not upon any real land value. The Bureau of Internal Revenue began to scrutinize the Florida real estate boom as a giant sham operation. Speculators intent on flipping properties at huge profits began to have a difficult time finding new buyers. To make matters worse, in October 1925, the "Big Three" railroad companies operating in Florida—the Seaboard Air Line Railway , the Florida East Coast Railway , and

111-478: A huge lighted billboard in New York 's Times Square proclaiming "It's June In Miami". Fisher's publicity and investments along with those of concurrent pioneers Lummus and Collins correlated with rapidly rising prices, and the boom began. Brokers and dealers speculated wildly on commodities as well. They ordered supplies in excess of what was actually needed and sent shipments to general destinations. The result

148-450: A limit on the amount of bonded debt local governments could hold. He faced opposition from state representatives in northern Florida whose counties had less debt and did not want to pay for their southern counterparts. Deposits in Florida banks had increased steadily between 1922 and 1925, but then started to decline; by 1926 smaller banks began to fail because of many withdrawals by depositors and defaults on loans. Bank assets flowing into

185-642: A new history of racially deed restricted properties that segregated cities for decades. Among those cities at the center of this bubble were Miami Beach , Coral Gables , Hialeah , Miami Springs , Opa-locka , Miami Shores , and Hollywood . It also left behind the remains of failed development projects such as Aladdin City , Boca Raton (original plan), Chevelier , Fulford-by-the-Sea , Interocean City , Isola di Lolando , Okeelanta , Palm Beach Ocean , Poinciana , and Sun City . The land boom shaped Florida's future for decades and created entire new cities out of

222-611: Is also used on the Midpoint Bridge , and the Sanibel Causeway . However, there is a variable pricing scheme in effect. Due to the age of the 1964 structure, there are currently plans to rebuild the Cape Coral Bridge. Initially, plans included replacing the westbound Cape Coral Bridge with a new three-lane bridge and widening the eastbound bridge (built in 1989) to three lanes on both direction. In 2023,

259-482: Is controlled directly by the county government. It is also very common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy. The region is designated as one of Florida's 4 districts for the Committee of Southern Historic Preservation (C-SHP). The district has been represented by Tommy Stolly since 2013. Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including

296-419: Is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring training, with teams informally organized into the " Grapefruit League ." As of 2004 , Southwest Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training: Communities listed have a population greater than 30,000 according to the 2000 census . Florida land boom of the 1920s The first real estate bubble in Florida

333-595: The Prinz Valdemar , a 241-foot, steel-hulled schooner , sank in the mouth of the turning basin of Miami harbor and blocked access to the harbor. It had been on its way to becoming a floating hotel. Because the railroads were still embargoing non-essential shipments, it now became completely impossible to bring building supplies into the Miami area, and the city's image as a tropical paradise began to crumble. In his book Miami Millions , Kenneth Ballinger wrote that

370-524: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad —called an embargo due to the rail traffic gridlock of building materials, permitting only foodstuffs, fuel, perishables , and essential commodities to enter or move within the state. Also in 1925, Florida began to pass laws further regulating real estate; with salesmen being required to have licenses and offices which as a result led to a boom in demand for office space. Then, on January 10, 1926,

407-646: The Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport straddling the line between Southwest Florida and the Miami metropolitan area . SeaPort Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes. Seminole Gulf Railway provides freight services throughout Southwest Florida. The Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and the Florida East Coast provide Florida with an intriguing history since most of

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444-459: The Everglades land that remain today. The story includes many parallels to the real estate boom of the 2000s , including the forces of outside speculators, easy credit access for buyers, and rapidly appreciating property values, ending in a financial collapse that ruined thousands of investors and property owners, and crippled the local economy for years thereafter. In the background were

481-641: The Prinz Valdemar capsize incident saved many people from huge possible losses by revealing cracks in the Miami façade. "In the enforced lull which accompanied the efforts to unstopper the Miami Harbor," he wrote, "many a shipper in the North and many a builder in the South got a better grasp of what was actually taking place here." New buyers failed to arrive, and the property price escalation that fueled

518-976: The Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the Interstate 75 freeway , both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Greater Miami–Ft. Lauderdale to the east. Long-term cooperative infrastructure planning is coordinated by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council ( web site ), and in heavily populated Lee County , the Metropolitan Planning Organization . Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including Bradenton , Fort Myers , Naples , Port Charlotte , Punta Gorda and Sarasota . Southwest Florida International Airport , located to

555-519: The U.S. state of Florida . The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area , west of Lake Okeechobee , and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee , Sarasota , Charlotte , Lee , and Collier counties. For some purposes,

592-725: The 12-campus State University System of Florida . FGCU competes in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I sports. FGCU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate's , 51 different types of bachelor's , 29 different master's , and 6 types of doctoral degrees. The following table shows the professional teams and major NCAA Division 1 teams that play in Southwest Florida. Florida

629-588: The 1920s coupled with a lack of knowledge about storm frequency and the poor building standards used by boom developers set the conditions for the first real estate bubble in Florida. Miami had an image as a tropical paradise and outside investors across the United States began taking an interest in Miami real estate. Due in part to publicity stunts and deed restrictions, developers saw a large influx of Northern tourists and potential residents. Developer Carl G. Fisher of Indiana became famous by purchasing

666-456: The Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and Havana . Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport serves as the secondary airport for the region and the primary airport for American and Canadian travelers hoping to travel to the northern part of Southwest Florida, flying as far west as Denver , as far north as Toronto Pearson and Minneapolis , and as far east as Boston . In 2021,

703-558: The Cape Coral Bridge on the Caloosahatchee River. The bridge is owned by the Lee County Department of Transportation. There is currently a two dollar toll in effect for westbound vehicles only, and there is no tolls for eastbound traffic. Florida's statewide SunPass prepaid electronic toll collection system is accepted on the Cape Coral Bridge, along with Lee County's "Leeway" prepaid toll system, which

740-1064: The Europeans was devastating to the Calusa, as diseases such as smallpox and measles decimated the population. Eventually the Seminole would arrive from points to the north and establish themselves on the peninsula. Southwest Florida was mostly not developed until the Florida land boom of the 1920s . The Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) expanded south from Tampa . There has been a major real estate boom focusing on downtown Fort Myers (high-rise residential condominiums); southern Lee County (commercial development and high-technology ); eastern Collier County (residential development); and eastern parts of Bradenton . Numerous efforts in recent years have been made to reduce development and preserve open space and recreational areas. Inland counties ( DeSoto , Hendry and Glades Counties) are notably rural, with

777-647: The South's classic lines are operated here. Tourism is a major economic driver in the area. The warm winter climate draws tourists from across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Major attractions/destinations: Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university located just south of the Southwest Florida International Airport in South Fort Myers in Lee County, Florida . The university belongs to

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814-594: The airport served 3.16 million passengers, a new record for the airport. General aviation airports sprawl across the region, with the airport in Naples being the twelfth busiest in the nation for private jet traffic. The region also hosts general aviation facilities at namesake airports in various locations including Immokalee , Buckingham , LaBelle , Arcadia , Marco Island , Punta Gorda , and Venice , as well as at Fort Myers' Page Field , Placida's Coral Creek Airport , Everglades Airpark near Everglades City , and

851-442: The boom, local government did not have revenue proceeds to pay down bond debt. This resulted in widespread unsecured bond default. Another contributing factor was that numerous counties in southern Florida would take out "large loans" during the boom to help build infrastructure projects to entice developers which led to these counties going into debt. Doyle Carlton was elected in 1928 as governor and during his tenure he tried to put

888-420: The city economically. Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida, would not be as affected by the boom because municipal leaders had decided to work on expanding industry and commerce rather than tourism after World War I. By January 1925, investors were beginning to read negative press about Florida investments. Forbes magazine warned that Florida land prices were based solely upon the expectation of finding

925-424: The county instead decided to replace both bridges with new three-lane bridges for a total of six lanes. Additionally, the project will also allow pedestrian access to the bridge, improve bicycle lanes and improve the intersection between Cape Coral Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard. The project is expected to begin in 2026. Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of

962-509: The first span, with two lanes for eastbound traffic, and westbound traffic using both lanes on the original span. In conjunction with the new eastbound span, a four lane overpass was constructed over the intersection of State Road 867 (McGregor Boulevard) just east of the bridge. The Cape Coral Bridge was the only link between Fort Myers and Cape Coral until 1997, when the Midpoint Memorial Bridge opened just north of

999-721: The inland counties of DeSoto , Glades , and Hendry , and the thinly populated mainland section of Monroe County , south of Collier, are also included. The region includes four metropolitan areas: the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA , the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA , the Naples-Marco Island MSA , and the Punta Gorda MSA . The most populous county in the region is Lee County (760,822 population), and

1036-566: The land boom stopped. The days of Miami properties being bought and sold at auction as many as ten times in one day were over. Although the railroads lifted the embargo in May 1926, the boom was about to end. The 1926 Miami hurricane ended the boom and the much smaller 1928 Okeechobee hurricane made certain it was extinguished. The 1926 hurricane destroyed "whatever public enthusiasm for Florida vacation properties and real estate development that remained," as there had been little preparation for

1073-500: The primary economic driver being agriculture . Important products grown in this area include tomatoes , beef , sugarcane , and citrus products including oranges . Agricultural harvesting in Southwest Florida employs approximately 16,000 seasonal workers, 90 percent of which are thought to be migrants . Each county in the region has its own county government. Within each county, there are also self-governing cities, towns and villages. The remaining majority of land in each county

1110-403: The region's largest city is Cape Coral with a population of 194,016 as of 2020. Nomadic Paleo-Indians inhabited southwestern Florida during the last ice age around 10,000 BC. The Paleo-Indians gave way to the Calusa, the "shell people." The Calusa thrived on the southwest Florida coast and numbered over 50,000 when the first Spaniards reached the peninsula in the 16th century. The arrival of

1147-482: The south of Fort Myers, is the area's primary airport for commercial traffic, serving 10.3 million passengers in 2021 and becoming one of the 50 busiest airports in the United States. Since 2022, the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings Discover operates a direct route between Fort Myers and Frankfurt Airport , the sole nonstop flight to Europe in the region; the airport also facilitates travel between 28 states as well as

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1184-425: The state started to reverse. A "surplus of funds" and easily available credit also began to dry up. The collapse of Florida land values caused a severe financial crisis for the state government.  Land values had dropped nearly to the vanishing point, but the property was subject to property tax assessments far in excess of its current value.  Many property owners simply abandoned the property and did not pay

1221-494: The storm. Florida's economic decline predated the start of the Great Depression. Therefore, it had fewer resources and more debt "than other regions of the nation." Large amounts of local debt financing through bonds worsened the economic situation in the state with most of it coming from the years of the land boom. During the land boom, many local governments sold bonds to pay for projects related to development. After

1258-581: The taxes.  Under state law, the state could not sell the property for less than its assessed value.  To remedy the situation, in 1937, the Florida Legislature passed the Murphy Act. The Act permitted the state to sell tax delinquent property for what could be obtained.  Deeds issued to purchasers, colloquially known as “Murphy deeds,” reserved certain rights to the state.  Years later, these reservations in many cases enabled

1295-479: The well-publicized extensions of the Florida East Coast Railway , first to West Palm Beach (1894), then Miami (1896), and finally Key West , 1912. The Everglades were being drained, creating new dry land. Finally, World War I cut off the rich from their seasons on the French Riviera , increasing the appeal of parts of the U.S. with a Mediterranean or Tropical climate. The economic prosperity of

1332-452: Was primarily caused by the economic prosperity of the 1920s coupled with a lack of knowledge about storm frequency and the poor building standards . This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned developments incorporated into towns and cities. Major investors and speculators such as Carl G. Fisher also left behind

1369-400: Was railroad freight cars became stranded, choking the movement of rail traffic statewide. The impact of the boom would extend beyond Miami and southern Florida. Tampa saw growth during this period as well, but had a more diversified economy than Miami which included manufacturing and tourism. Miami's economy was primarily based on tourism despite failed attempts during the 1920s to diversify

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