Target Corp. purchased a nearly 21-acre site in eastern Lee County near Lehigh Acres, along the Daniels Parkway and State Road 82 corridor, on October 28, 2026. The acquisition places the retailer along a corridor experiencing substantial residential growth.
Two Shopping Centers Take Shape Across From Each Other
The The News-Press reported Target's land purchase, while The Sembler Company says it is planning two shopping centers in the area. Gateway Marketplace, a 245,000-square-foot shopping center at the southwest corner of Daniels Parkway and State Road 82, is already under construction, according to The Sembler Company. That project is anchored by a 54,964-square-foot Publix Super Market and a 135,000-square-foot Home Depot, with an opening to the public projected for the third quarter of 2027.
Directly across Daniels Parkway, Sembler plans Creekside Marketplace, a companion development. Sembler says Creekside is planned on about 41 acres as a 250,000-square-foot retail and medical office destination, featuring major anchor tenants, medical and health services, and 11 outparcels. The firm is still working through plans for tenants.
A Corridor Reshaped by Rooftops
The growth surrounding these projects isn't incidental. Sembler says Lehigh Acres permitted 5,000 new residential units in 2025, and the two development sites together see more than 106,000 vehicles passing daily once Gunnery Road traffic is included. Nearby, Lennar's Timber Creek is an existing community with 1,310 homes, while Daniels Creek is an upcoming 1,600-home development.
That residential surge continues to reshape the corridor. The Florida Gulf Coast University Regional Economic Research Institute tracks Lee County building permits. A separate report from WINK News described State Road 82 as a rapidly growing corridor where thousands of homes have been built in recent years, with thousands more planned.
What Planned Retail Could Mean for Nearby Households
The planned shopping centers are intended to serve the Gateway and Lehigh Acres communities, bringing retail options to the expanding submarket.
Sembler Chief Operating Officer Sean Davis said the company tailors its projects to the communities it serves, its retail partners, and the long-term success of the property. Josh Beyer, Sembler's senior vice president of development, said the firm develops spaces designed to strengthen neighborhoods and meet communities' needs. Sembler, based in St. Petersburg, says it has completed more than 350 developments totaling 29 million square feet of retail over more than six decades, with a focus on the southeastern United States and especially Florida.
Part of a Broader Eastern Lee County Build-Out
Sembler's track record in the area includes the redevelopment of Daniels Crossing, a Publix-anchored Fort Myers shopping center that reopened in 2025, and Riverdale Shopping Center, a Publix-anchored center in east Lee that reopened after redevelopment in 2021. The Gateway and Creekside centers will add restaurants and everyday services alongside their grocery, home improvement and medical office anchors.
Target's move also lands amid a wave of other eastern Lee County retail activity. A planned Walmart Supercenter-anchored shopping center is intended to serve Lehigh Acres from the south side of State Road 82, with the Walmart Supercenter itself expected to be about 175,000 square feet. Casto development manager Matt Drews said it should break ground in September and open by the end of 2027 or early 2028, according to Gulfshore Business. Confirmed tenants for that surrounding center include McDonald's, 7 Brew Coffee, AutoZone, Panda Express, Wendy's, Mister Car Wash, Suncoast Credit Union, Walmart Gas, Taco Bell and Heartland Dental. Separately, a 68-acre commercial property in eastern Lee County sold for $14.15 million, with the buyer intending to develop a large-scale retail project there, Gulfshore Business also reported.
