FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mary Gibbs, Lee County Community Development
              (239) 479-8345

MARCH NEAR-RECORD MONTH FOR BUILDING PERMITS IN COUNTY

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 7, 2004) - Lee County's Community Development Department issued 570 single-family home permits in the month of March - a near record bested only by the 571 permits issued in August 2003 and only the third time a month's activity has topped 500.

In addition, permits were issued for 136 duplex units - another record.

Lee County's Community Development Department released its March statistics today. The totals are for unincorporated Lee County, City of Bonita Springs and Town of Fort Myers Beach. Both Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach contract with the county to do their permitting services.

The value of the 570 single-family home permits is $105.8 million. So far this year, the county has permitted $604 million of construction. Permitting value in Lee County experienced a huge increase in 2003, surging a whopping $500 million to surpass the $2 billion mark.

Permit value in 2002 was $1.48 billion.

Lee County issued 547 single-family home permits in January and 466 in February.

Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, and development services such as permitting, development review, code enforcement and building inspections in the unincorporated areas of the county and for Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. It employs 205 people and has a fiscal year 2004 operating budget of $21 million.

To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/.