A Bonita Springs couple has sold Florida Gulf Coast University their waterside property in Estero Bay. The university will use to build a small field station for marine and environmental programs.
The property and new FGCU marine lab will be located at 5164 Bonita Beach Road.
The property was sold to FGCU for $2.75 million, about $1 million below its estimated market value. The Bonita Beach Plantation Resort property is located on Little Hickory Island.
Norm and Nancy Vester, seasonal residents from Massachusetts who live a bulk of the year in Bonita Springs, have been in negotiations with the FGCU Foundation for the past several months working out the details of the sale.
The Vester's purchased the resort property about a year and a half ago. They live in a condo on the site, which includes an eight-unit apartment building and another building with four apartments. He agreed to sell the land to the university based on his contact with FGCU graduates and his interest in the restoration and study of marine life. The Vester's will remain on site at the marine lab. Visiting scientists will have access to the eight unit apartment building located on the compound.
The Bonita Springs property is the first marine lab investment in Southwest Florida. FGCU has future goals of establishing a much larger, 27 acre lab in Rookery Reserve in Naples, Florida soon.
Read also: FGCU Rookery Marine Lab
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