Community snapshot: Area unscathed by tough times
Fiddlesticks community remains strong
BY DON MANLEY • dmanley@news-press • May 18, 2008

Jutting into Daniels Parkway, the tract's northern border is Fiddlesticks Boulevard, the main connector to the outside world for the upscale communities that form 401.07's residential heart.
Three of them are among Lee County's pre-eminent gated golf communities: Old Hickory, Legends and the venerable Fiddlesticks, with their spacious, custom homes on large, picture-perfect lots. In each case, golf courses - two at Fiddlesticks - and country clubs form the center of their communal universe.
But the good life is defined differently in the central and southern parts of 401.07, where wetlands, rock mining and light industry dominate. Alico Road serves as the primary lifeline, linking the area to U.S. 41 and Interstate 75.
Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway and I-75 complete the boundaries, on the east and west, respectively.
Not far from the interstate is Fiddlesticks Boulevard, which dead-ends at the roughly 770-acre development that is its namesake.
Developed in the early 1980s, Fiddlesticks was the first community in Southwest Florida where membership in its country club was required to purchase a home.
Jeff Whitley said his parents, Herb and Ruth, were the first people to build a home there and helped found the country club.
The year was 1983.
"This place was nothing but trees and swamps when we moved here," he said. "There was no I-75, no airport. We were landing at Page Field at the time." Whitley, 57, and his wife Kathy also became homeowners there and eventually full-time residents after he retired from running his metal stamping company in Massachusetts.
He praised the space between houses, the neighborhood spirit and the country club's strong financial footing, and the fact that it's small enough that people use golf carts to get around.
And then there's the golf itself.
Warning and wit are engendered in the names of Fiddlesticks' two courses: Long Mean and Wee Friendly.
"They're both fabulous courses and the Wee Friendly isn't all that friendly," Whitley said. "It's a tough golf course also."
Real estate agent John McWilliams of McWilliams Buckley & Associates has lived in Fiddlesticks since 1991 and also handles listings there.
He said the residential makeup is diverse where age and home-states are concerned, he said.
"It's a mix of local professionals, typically in higher-end professions. With an $81,000 equity (country club membership) amount, it typically attracts affluent buyers. I know when people shop and compare other country clubs, I certainly welcome that as a Realtor because of the unique qualities of Fiddlesticks."
Fiddlesticks consists of about 200 condominiums and roughly 400 single-family homes, most of them on the golf course.
Condominium prices can run from the mid-$100,000 range for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo, to $400,000 to $500,000 for a 2,700-square-foot townhouse, he said.
Single-family homes and their third- to half-acre lots start in the $450,000 to $500,000 range and span upward to more than $2 million for 6,000 square feet "of spectacular luxury," McWilliams added.
With the advent of Old Hickory, Legends and other residential developments along Fiddlesticks Boulevard, as well as homes to the south, off Briarcliff Road, Tract 401.07's population stood at 6,132 residents in the 2000 Census, an increase of 105 percent over the 1990 count.
Cypress Preserve is a post-2000, single-family home enclave on Fiddlesticks Boulevard that will contribute to 401.07's tally in the 2010 Census.
Jeff Delaney, a real estate agent for Cozza Investment Group in Fort Myers, is the listing agent for a home there, on Cypress Preserve Circle, that is part of the ever-growing wave of short-sale properties.
The asking price is $399,000 for the four-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-story home that also includes a bonus room that comprises the second floor. Price has been a major stumbling block during the 11/2 years the house has been on the market, he said. Comparable homes in the area are priced in the $325,000 range, Delaney added.
Karen Gleason said a contract is awaiting bank approval on a neighboring home that is also a short sale. She said the three-bedroom two-bathroom home - with a pool and a rear lake view - has a list price of $295,000 and its value was assessed at roughly $375,000 two years ago. She said she could not divulge the amount of the prospective buyer's offer.
She and Delaney listed the area's proximity to the interstate, Southwest Florida International Airport and shopping and restaurants along Daniels as major pluses of life there.
But it's tucked away far enough from Daniels that it's pretty quiet in there," Gleason said.
Across the street from the development's entrance is an 8.5-acre parcel, zoned commercial, that is on the market for roughly $2.2 million, or $5.90 per square foot.
"It is definitely the best price in the area and these are very motivated sellers" said the listing agent, Jack Britton of Professional Realty Consultants of Lee County, in Cape Coral.
Since its opening about five years ago, the Shoppes at Fiddlesticks has provided local residents and workers with a Publix supermarket, restaurants, banking and more.
Occupancy there has remained strong with its location along heavily traveled Daniels and the burgeoning nearby population, said Tom Birch of the plaza's leasing agent, The Birch Co.
The last vacant space was leased about one month ago to Five Guys Pizza and serious discussions are under way with several prospective tenants for another 1,800-square-foot unit that will become available in about 30 days, Birch said.
"There's a nice mix of locals in there with the Publix," he said. "It's been a very healthy center. It's done well."
Down south, at 401.07's southern border, is Alico, where a realignment and widening project was completed last year.
Development's hand has been raised, but has yet to fall on the plentiful, vacant land along the roadway's northern portion. Cattle graze on some parcels, but others are occupied by signs heralding planned commercial developments.
Phil Graffy and three partners are the owners of one such parcel, dubbed Alico Industrial Center. A large sign along Alico identifies it as a 254-acre industrial park, with only 60 acres remaining.
They bought the land three years ago with the belief there was a need for industrial developments to support the new airport and the growing population.
"Sales were brisk, but they ran parallel to the housing market," said Graffy, of Naples. "The market just hit the wall. There were a number of end users who bought it and the end users thought it was going to continue to increase in value and they got caught in a down market. It's indicative of the Florida real estate market. It's just stagnant."
Back at Fiddlesticks, McWilliams said the downturn has had no noticeable effect.
"Fiddlesticks beats to a different drummer," he said. "We did not have flippers and speculators in the '04 -'05 time period. We were a real market then and we're a real market now. Because of the affluence and uniqueness of our community, our prices have held steady and strong."