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Piper reflects on Bonita's future

A city of gated communities and no landmark Wonder Gardens are just two predictions

By CHUCK CURRY (Contact)

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

It is nearly impossible to trump David Piper's family roots in Bonita Springs.

Piper, 44, is the fourth generation of his family to work at his family's landmark Wonder Gardens attraction on Old 41 Road. His son, Brock, 15, is the fifth generation. The attraction has been open since Feb. 22, 1936 — through hurricanes and the ups and downs that any attraction experiences.

Photo by CHUCK CURRY / Banner

Visitors to the Wonder Gardens gift shop can get a good look at this attraction's ambassador.

Yet, the future will most probably hold a very different look for both Bonita Springs overall and Old 41 Road specifically, Piper believes.

Piper, who last March lost a re-election bid to the Bonita Springs City Council (he had been on the council since its inception in 2000), remains a fan and booster of Bonita Springs. He just doesn't see a future for his business.

"The (vision) of Bonita Springs as a fishing village is far gone," Piper said during an interview Thursday at Wonder Gardens. "The reality of Bonita Springs is more and more gated communities." On a more personal note, Piper says he envisions a future Bonita Springs without Wonder Gardens.

"What's good for Bonita Springs is not necessarily good for us," Piper says.

With the multi-million dollar Imperial Landing project ready to turn its first shovel across Old 41 Road from Wonder Gardens, Piper's 3.5 acres at Wonder Gardens offers an opportunity for similar development.

Piper says he has turned down offers for the Wonder Gardens property. The offered prices have been "up to three times" what the city paid for the former Bamboo Village site that will be known as Imperial Landing in the public-private partnership.

Photo by CHUCK CURRY / Banner

David and Dawn Piper pose on the bridge over the alligator pit at Everglades Wonder Gardens off Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs.

At that level, Piper has turned down nearly $9 million for his property. In addition, he believes any future owner will be able to get the same commercial-residential zoning that the council has given to Imperial Landing. It would be difficult to imagine otherwise, he says.

Piper is not sitting on his hands. He says that he has explored a variety of options, including an alliance with a North Fort Myers attraction (the Shell Factory) and looked at property in north Florida. A new Wonder Gardens facility would require at least 10 acres of land under current state and federal regulations, Piper says.

With millions on the table, it would be nearly impossible to believe that Wonder Gardens will not ultimately move from Bonita Springs.

Yet, Bonita Springs remains home and more for Piper.

"We're fine. We're going to do what we need to do," he says on a cold, rainy day with dozens of customers in attendance at the attraction.

Photo by CHUCK CURRY / Banner

Signs along Old 41 Road advertise Everglades Wonder Gardens.

On other issues:

• Piper cannot say if he'll be up for another run at council in 2010. If Wonder Gardens and his family moves, he would not qualify. He remains a critic of his successful opponent (Martha Simons) from 2006, yet, when asked about the three council members elected last year, says he is impressed with Richard Ferreira.

• Piper supports maintaining low density in the Density Reduction Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area in Bonita Springs east of Interstate 75. "I would never agree to extreme density in the DR/GR." In another comment, he says, "We need to have critical greenspace protected."

• Piper is a major supporter of the redevelopment of Old 41 Road. Such redevelopment improves the health of Bonita Springs, he says.