DiamondHead Beach Resort Takes Its Expansion Plan to Fort Myers Beach Town Council on October 5

One of the largest beachfront resorts on Fort Myers Beach is about to put its growth plan in front of the people who get the final say. According to reporting by Beach Talk Radio News published October 2, 2026, DiamondHead Beach Resort at 2000 Estero Boulevard is moving forward with its request to expand and will present it to the Fort Myers Beach Town Council on Monday, October 5.

The resort has 121 rooms today. The plan would add 57, for a total of 178. As Fort Myers Beach Talk described the filing in May, those new rooms would be split two ways: 33 in an addition to the existing building and 24 in a new, separate building on the pool side of the property, facing the neighboring condominium building. The application also calls for a new raised second pool and deck and roughly 180 parking spaces, including valet spaces for the busy season.

To get there, the resort needs the council to approve a rezoning to a Commercial Planned Development, along with a set of deviations from the town's land development code. Fort Myers Beach Talk reported eight deviations in all, with the most significant being height: both new pieces of the plan would rise well above what the town's code normally allows on that stretch of the island. The exact heights have been reported differently by different outlets, so this article leaves them out rather than pick one.

The plan has already had one public hearing, and it did not go the resort's way. The town's Local Planning Agency, the volunteer board that reviews land use requests before they reach council, voted 6-0 on September 8 to recommend denial, according to reporting by Gulfshore Business and Beach Talk Radio News.

Two concerns came up in that reporting. The first was the new building on the beach side of the property, which neighbors said would block their views of the beach and the Gulf. The second was public benefit: board members said what DiamondHead offered the community in return was not enough to justify the deviations it was asking for.

DiamondHead's general manager, Neil Hopgood, pushed back on that point after the vote. Beach Talk Radio News quoted him asking for "a definition of what a public benefit is," and he questioned why the resort was being treated differently from other beach developments the town has approved. The outlet also noted that DiamondHead opened its conference facilities to the community free of charge after Hurricane Ian.

According to Beach Talk Radio News, yes, though the details are not public yet. Hopgood told the outlet the project "has been modified" and that updated renderings were expected to be released. The report did not describe what changed, whether the new beach-side building is still part of it, or whether the room count is different.

That matters, and it is the main reason to read the council agenda packet before Monday rather than relying on the version of the plan described in May or September. If the resort has reduced the height, moved the new building, or added public benefits, the plan in front of council may look meaningfully different from the one the planning board rejected.

There is also some history behind the numbers. Fort Myers Beach Talk reported that plans approved before the town incorporated allowed 154 units on the site. Beach Talk Radio News reported that the current request works out to 24 units above that earlier allowance, and that records of how a separate batch of 33 units was previously approved by Lee County are not clear. Expect that history to come up at the hearing.

The most organized opposition, as reported by Beach Talk Radio News, comes from owners at the condominium building next door, who say the new building would block their beach and Gulf views. The outlet reported that many of them have emailed council members to oppose the plan.

On the other side, Beach Talk Radio News reported that the local group What's Up FMB has been trying to rally support from island business owners ahead of the hearing.

Both arguments will be heard on Monday. Council is not bound by the planning board's recommendation. It can approve the plan, deny it, approve it with conditions, or continue the hearing to a later date.

Nobody can honestly put a number on what one resort expansion does to the value of any particular home or condo, and I would be wary of anyone who claims to. What this hearing does decide is something more concrete: how tall and how dense the beachfront along this part of Estero Boulevard is allowed to become, and what the town expects in return when a property owner asks to go beyond the code.

That question reaches well past one resort. Fort Myers Beach is still rebuilding after Hurricane Ian, and DiamondHead is not the only large site to come before council: Gulfshore Business reported in September that council cleared plans for the Wyndham and Silver Sands properties. Each decision helps set the pattern for the next one. If you are looking at beachfront condos on Fort Myers Beach, the view you are paying for is only as protected as the zoning on the lots around it, and a council vote is where that gets decided.

For anyone weighing a second home on Fort Myers Beach or an investment property on the island, hotel room counts are part of the picture too. They shape how many visitors the island is built to hold, what the traffic on Estero Boulevard looks like in season, and how much short-term lodging competes with private rentals.

And if you are following new construction on Fort Myers Beach, how council handles requests for extra height and density tells you a great deal about what is likely to get built on the island in the next few years.

Three things are worth watching:

• The updated plan. Look for the revised renderings and the council agenda packet before Monday's hearing. The changes Hopgood described could be minor or significant.
• The vote, or a continuance. Large planned-development hearings on the island do not always end in a decision the first night. A continuance would push the outcome to a later meeting.
• Any conditions attached. If council approves the plan, the conditions it sets on height, view corridors, parking and public benefits will matter as much as the yes itself, both for the neighbors and as a signal for future projects.

If you own on this stretch of Estero Boulevard, or you are deciding where on the island to buy, I am happy to walk through what a project like this could mean for a specific building or street. You can read how I guide buyers through the home buying process, or reach out to me directly.

Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, (239) 300-1427.