Lee's hosting 'largest gathering of CEOs.' Where are 450,000 headed to in SW Florida?

Not only will the Edison Awards bring some of the planet's most innovative and talented minds to downtown Fort Myers this week, it's also a moneymaker for Southwest Florida.

The economic impact is estimated at about $3 million, according to public records, with the hope that perhaps some of these visiting big dogs could eventually do more business in the area, set up offices or even move corporate headquarters here.

"There's about 600 CEOs from 24 countries — the largest gathering of CEOs in the state of Florida," said Lee County Economic Development Director John Talmage, who's on the executive committee for the Horizon Foundation, an awards sponsor.

Here's what to know.

Who are among the globe's brightest minds converging on SW Florida?

The future and the execution of concepts to come are what's at the heart of the awards, named after local winter resident and global whiz Thomas Alva Edison, who died in 1931. Established in 1987 in New York, the confab of some of Earth's top business and government executives, academics and inventors comes Wednesday through Friday to the region for the fourth time to share concepts and hand out or receive honors at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center.

"It's going to be spectacular," Talmage told In the Know. "The lifetime achievement award winners this year are the COO of Space X and the director of the Jet Propulsion Labs at NASA. They're both women. (And) then the person introducing them is the only person to play both in the NFL and to fly multiple space missions. And they should be bringing a bunch of astronauts with them."

In case you were wondering, Leland D. Melvin, with a pair of International Space Station visits, is the high-flying athlete whose Detroit Lions jersey can be found in the NFL Hall of Fame. Space X's Gwynne Shotwell and NASA's Laurie Leshin are slated to join an exclusive club that includes previous honorees, such as Ted Turner, the late Steve Jobs and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

What are among international companies and colleges to be honored?

Companies with local ties that are Edison Award finalists include: Collier County's largest employer, Arthrex, a worldwide medical device manufacturer, and Black & Veatch, part of marshalling mechanical and electrical construction for Vineyard Wind, the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind energy project. Serving 30,000 homes, its first phase of five turbines powered on this year from 15 miles off Martha's Vineyard's coast in Massachusetts. Eventually, 62 turbines will generate renewable energy for more than 400,000 homes and businesses.

Others that are finalists in the running for medals include Purdue University, BrewBird coffee, Flex Seal, National Taiwan University Hospital, Australia's Axiom Holographics holograms, Strive animal-free dairy milk, Dubai government police, Corning, Hong Kong's Obspot AI-powered cams, Sentry Systems, Dow, LG, Micron and Cargill.

What is the Unbuilt Triangle in Southwest Florida?

In our recent chat with Talmage at a Lee County Industrial Development Authority gathering, In the Know also asked him about a term you're reading here first: The Unbuilt Triangle.

If you search "Unbuilt Triangle" in quotes on Google, you'll receive a total of eight random, unrelated results, mostly about something in the UK. Starting with this column today, you'll likely see many more mentions down the line.

It's essentially a mostly rural region of Lee and Hendry counties that in the future would hold upwards of 450,000 residents, far more than Cape Coral, about as many as Sarasota County now and definitely much more than the 300,000 projection for east Collier County's Rural Lands Stewardship Area amid the Everglades. Consider that Collier itself just edged past the overall 400,000 mark.

"It's much bigger than East Collier," Talmage told me. "It could hold about 400,000, 450,000 people. (That) is just what's planned right now."

To get that triangle, you start at the State Roads 82 and 80 intersection, go southeast to State Road 29, then north to LaBelle and then back west toward Fort Myers.

How long does it take to ride the Unbuilt Triangle?

Lehigh, with its 100,000-plus residents, corridors closest to Fort Myers and a few other pockets aren't exactly uninhabited as the moon, but there are lots and lots of empty lots, redevelopment opportunities and not enough commercial options as residents often tell me. Much of the rest of the barren terrain might as well be Mars, with how far out it seems for city folks.

But in actuality, a Wednesday evening drive along the triangle took less than two hours. Not that distant when you consider largely newbies being just fine with the hefty growth occurring in their outposts like Ave Maria and Babcock Ranch, both about a 45-minute jaunt from their county seats, depending on the time of day and year.

What's an early driver for the Unbuilt Triangle?

"Hendry County is going crazy. They've laid a water line all the way from LaBelle to the Lee County line," Talmage said. "There's about 16 planned developments on the Hendry County side around the C-43 Reservoir. There's already housing. I think it's like 6,500 units of housing planned there. We're trying to figure out how we can connect on our side."

What Naples-based company is playing a role in the Unbuilt Triangle?

A planned "high-end RV park" wanting water service helped propel the process in Hendry, where 43,333 live, Talmage said. "That's how it started. They're beginning to start construction now, and the C-43 Reservoir is mostly done. (The) C-43 Reservoir could be the largest equestrian and hiking facility in the state of Florida."

In public records, the 160-acre RV park on State Road 80, somewhat halfway between Hendry's State Road 78A and Lee's Joel Boulevard, is known as Old Florida RV Resort, a project by an LLC that we traced to Lotus Construction in Naples. Even though the 430-lot enterprise has been permitted on former orange groves, the firm was working in the past week or so with the South Florida Water Management District on modifications.

What is the 11,000-acre C-43 Reservoir?

Almost adjacent to Old Florida RV Resort, the Caloosahatchee (C-43) reservoir in Hendry covers about 10,000 football fields and will store some 55 billion gallons of water in its 18 square miles by the time it's completed next year.

The concept, according to my more knowledgeable colleague Amy Bennett Williams, is to capture excess basin water from the surrounding area during wet season, store releases from Lake Okeechobee and improve the salinity balance for the Caloosahatchee estuary by providing freshwater when the river needs it during the dry season. Giant pumps on the 11,000 acres can move 650 gallons a minute. Still, experts say many, many more efforts like these will be needed to really make a significant difference in overcoming toxic crud from Lake O smothering our waterways.

But hey, you still get a cool park the size of Naples out of it.

Hikers, bikers and horseback riders will have miles of trails, along with boat ramps, kayaking, an equestrian area and other features.

What's another factor leading to growth in the Unbuilt Triangle?

You've read in this space before how Babcock Ranch, off State Road 31 and seven miles north of State Road 80, has helped push growth east. And Hurricane Ian has been a factor as well, with folks now perhaps more content than in the past to live further inland.

"Babcock Ranch has generated a lot of traffic as has LaBelle. You'll see a lot more growth," Talmage said. "Traffic counts on State Road 80 are now just about as high as they are on Daniels and Alico (roads). There's a lot more people."

What are among the major feeders into the Unbuilt Triangle?

The extension of Alico will feed right into the Triangle. Plans call for extending it northeast about nine miles to State Road 82 near Sunshine Boulevard. That'll be a major commuting route connecting to I-75, and there are other road improvements at least on the drawing board for the Triangle area.

Corkscrew Road, known more for its Estero features, also has a tie-in almost 20 miles from the I-75 exit all the way to State Road 82, with houses galore in the plans including the 6,000-acre Kingston development, which has drawn fire for projections that it will result in the deaths of up to 23 panthers a year.

"Kingston is a 10,000-home community," Talmage said of the spot near Corkscrew and State Road 82. "It'll have an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. What's been interesting about this Corkscrew expansion ― about 26,000 homes in the construction of Corkscrew ― is that families are buying them. It's just not for retirees. All of sudden there's an unmet need for educational facilities there.

What's a benefit for Lehigh Acres with Triangle and proposed projects?

"It will also bring much needed retail to Lehigh," Talmage said. State Road "82 will have a significant retail center."

Kingston alone plans 700,000 square feet of commercial space, and endeavors continue popping closer to it along Corkscrew with a Publix scheduled debut Thursday at The Shoppes at Verdana Village, a 13-minute drive away.

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What's one way LaBelle is preparing for what's to come?

All these homes mean commercial and other opportunities will follow, and leaders have been positioning their communities. In particular, LaBelle and Hendry County have been receiving acceptance into national programs to elevate its workforce.

While working with the Collaboratory, the latest came Thursday when it, along with Tampa and two Texas municipalities ― Waco and Abilene ― was selected for another jobs initiative, this one led in part by the National League of Cities.

“As the city continues to grow and attract new residents and businesses, new employment opportunities will become available, and we want to make sure our residents have the skill sets to acquire those positions," said Keitha Daniels, director of the Hendry County Economic Development Council. "At the same time, we want to make LaBelle a sought-after destination for businesses looking to relocate to our community."

Going by the convoluted name of Municipal Action Cohort: Connecting Adults to Postsecondary and Workforce Success, the goal is connecting adults with postsecondary educational opportunities that lead to high-quality jobs, according to the agencies involved.

“We are excited to be chosen for this opportunity, being the smallest (picked) in terms of population and geography," Daniels said.

In 2022,  Hendry County and FutureMakers Coalition at Collaboratory were chosen by CivicLab as one of five rural partnerships across the U.S. to participate in a two-year initiative to improve higher education and workforce systems.

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What other Hendry County spot is showing growth?

While LaBelle has its eye on the future, its main Hendry counterpart, Clewiston, is already hitting its groove.

At 14.1%, its home values have risen the most in Florida in the past year, according to Zillow and the development council. The next nine are all in South Florida on the other side of the state from here.

Now, we are talking a $240,966 typical value in Clewiston, significantly lower than the about $450,000 to $900,000 range of those other nine, making it a little easier to see a bigger percentage jump.

Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know, one of USA TODAY Network's most read local news columns in the state. Support democracy. Subscribe to a newspaper.