Center of Bonita Springs undergoing a facelift to attract new tenants
The sounds of concrete breaking and smashing to the ground fill the air as high-reach demolition machines rip apart an old Bealls department store. The business, like many retailers at this struggling 25-year-old Bonita Springs shopping center, closed years ago to move to a newer location.
Now, the Center of Bonita Springs is undergoing a facelift to attract new tenants.
The owners of one of Bonita Springs’ largest and oldest shopping plazas are spending $10-$15 million to overhaul its 287,000-square-foot plaza. The Center, on the northwest corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41, has struggled to lure and retain tenants since the 2008 housing crash. Plaza owners are demolishing the Bealls, which has sat empty for five years, to build a Publix. Publix, which has a 25-year-old store at the center, wanted a more efficient building.