Developer plans Publix, plus shops, on airport land

FORT MYERS — North American Properties plans to build a Publix-anchored shopping center on land near Southwest Florida International Airport.

The company plans to build a 65,000-square-foot center called Sky Walk at the intersection of Daniels Parkway and Gateway Boulevard in Fort Myers. Publix will use 45,000 square feet of space, with other shops taking the remaining space. In all, the center will be slightly larger than a football field and will be the first new Publix-anchored shopping center to be built in Lee County in more than five years.

The center will be part of Skyplex, the 1,150-acre master-planned commercial park along Daniels Parkway within the northern portion of Southwest Florida International Airport that's being developed by the Lee County Port Authority.