Lehigh Acres is Finally Getting What It's Needed for Decades

I lived out in Alva for years. Lehigh Acres was always right there, one of the fastest-growing communities in Lee County, with a population already past 130,000 and projected to double by 2050.

The running joke was that you had to drive to Fort Myers for everything. That’s not a joke when you’re actually living it. However, things are about to change.

A 60-acre commercial corridor is breaking ground

A Walmart Supercenter is breaking ground this month on State Road 82, anchoring a 60-acre shopping center that also includes McDonald’s, AutoZone, Panda Express, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell. Expected to open by the end of 2027. That’s a commercial corridor, not a strip mall.

The site plan showing a proposed Walmart Supercenter along State Road 82 in east Lee County

Unrivaled growth

Lehigh Acres was pre-platted in the 1950s as almost entirely residential, only 2% commercially zoned versus the typical 5%. The population grew for decades without the infrastructure to match. Lee County has spent $210M on Lehigh projects since 2021. Private developers are following.

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