Hotel deal getting closer in Fort Myers

A deal to build a 225-room convention center hotel in downtown Fort Myers is getting closer to being realized, city officials say.

Sarasota developer John Meshad's JWM Management has proposed to build a hotel next to Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers, says Don Paight, executive director of the Fort Myers Redevelopment Agency.

Speaking to a gathering of the Real Estate Investment Society in Fort Myers recently, Paight says the deal would obligate the city to spend $10 million to upgrade the aging Harborside, the city-owned convention center.