The newest plans to revive historic McCollum Hall near downtown Fort Myers include a restaurant, music venue and business center. Community Redevelopment Agency commissioners approved the concept during its Wednesday meeting.
Jeffrey Mudgett, one of the partners of Parker Mudgett Smith Architects, presented the plan to the Mayor and City Council members acting as CRA commissioners.
The approval included a two-story design that includes a 160-seat restaurant, a music venue/theater that could hold 200 to 300 people, a balcony, community room, recording studio, flexible outdoor space and a business center that could house as many as 18 tenants.
McCollum Hall, at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Cranford Avenue, was built in 1938 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Many Black musical acts played at the hall, attracting white and Black audiences during a time of segregation.