Songy Partners and its joint venture partner, Naples-based the D'Jamoos Group, closed on the property on earlier this month. The joint venture plans to begin work on the project immediately with plans to complete the first building, a three-story, 60,000-sf office asset, by December 2007. Atlanta-based Cooper Carry is the architect of record for the project, Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. is the general contractor and Johnson Engineering is the civil engineer.

Songy Partners COO Todd Nocerini tells GlobeSt.com that the office park has an estimated development cost of $95 million to $100 million. "We're in the process of getting our site plans approved, but there will probably be seven buildings," he says. "We'll develop some ourselves and sell some of the sites for others to develop."

Nocerini adds that the first building is 95% preleased to two tenants. Leasing efforts have just started for the second building, which will contain 80,000 sf.

"Fort Myers is experiencing record low vacancy rates. Office space is less than 4% across the Fort Myers submarket," says Songy Partners Realty Ltd. Florida regional director Robert Brooks. "There is tremendous pent-up demand on behalf of local, regional and national tenants looking to enter or expand within the market."

The Forum at Fort Myers is a mixed-used development being undertaken by ABG LLC, a company led by Miami Heat basketball coach Pat Riley. Work began on the development in 2003.

The D'Jamoos Group is also involved with another project at the Forum at Fort Myers, a $40-million retail/office project called the Galleria at the Forum at 3401 Forum Blvd. The project will be constructed in two phases. The first phase, to be constructed on 6.08 acres, will consist of 67,520 sf of office and retail space. The second phase will be constructed on 5.15 acres and will consist of 58,900 sf of office/medical space.