June 26, 2026 — Southwest Florida new business activity

Southwest Florida's eight counties logged 716 new business filings the week of June 5 to 11, down 124 from the week before but still 16 ahead of the same week last year.

Most of this week's drop is from Lee County and the city of Fort Myers. Lee fell 86 to 387 filings, and Fort Myers alone fell 47 to 105. Cape Coral dropped 30 to 127. Even with that pullback, several kinds of business still grew: retail rose 7 to 44, wholesale and distribution doubled to 20, manufacturing climbed from 2 to 13, and finance and insurance added 6 to 12.

Activity stays tightly clustered in two counties. Lee and Collier together held 573 of the region's 716 filings, close to 80% of the total. Charlotte County held its ground at 81, up 1 from last week, the only larger county to gain. A few cities also kept their pace while the bigger ones slipped: Lehigh Acres edged up 2 to 89, and Punta Gorda rose 2 to 40.

Goods makers and goods movers had a strong week. Wholesale and distribution ran near three times its usual weekly pace, and manufacturing posted its biggest count in a while. Property holding and asset protection was the single largest group at 116 filings, up 10 from last week. Within that group, short term rental formations grew from 6 to 10.

The longer trend is easing. This week sat below the 13 week average of 828.2, and the trailing 13 week total is falling. Still, the count came in 2.3% above the same week last year, so the pool of new businesses to reach is smaller than recent weeks but a bit larger than it was a year ago.

Very little growth over the past 13 weeks with a dip this past week pulling the average down.

The bold line is the 13-week average. Read it for the longer trend. The thin line is each week's count, which swings week to week.

Manufacturing grew the most this week, 11 more (up 550.0%). Healthcare dropped the most, 19 fewer (down 39.6%). Several smaller sectors also grew.

Lee led the region this week with 387 new filings. 2 other counties also grew from the week before.

• Collier County said Phase 1 of the Vanderbilt Beach Road Extension reached substantial completion and is set to open to traffic on June 12, 2026. The new road runs about 7 miles from Collier Boulevard to 16th Street NE in Golden Gate Estates. It was built as a six lane divided road tapering to two lanes. It is meant to ease traffic on nearby routes and speed up emergency response in eastern Collier. Crews will finish punch list items after the opening, and Phase 2 toward Everglades Boulevard is in final design. A new 7 mile corridor through Golden Gate Estates opens land for homes and shops, work for road and site contractors, paving and landscaping crews, and the surveyors and engineers carrying Phase 2 into design. As the area fills in, homebuilders, real estate firms, and the retail and personal services new residents use all gain prospects. This lines up with the region's steady Construction and Trades count of 70 filings this week. Collier County, FL, Official News, 2026-06-09
• Collier County's Transportation Management Services Department is moving the Pine Ridge Road Corridor Improvements project to its 60% design stage and held a public information open house on June 18, 2026 in Naples to share details. A corridor project at the design stage means near term work for engineering and design firms, and later for road builders, drainage and utility crews, and traffic and signal contractors. Transportation and logistics firms working the Naples area gain from a smoother route once it is built. Collier County, FL, Official News, 2026-06-05
• Charlotte County's Board of County Commissioners offered up to $340,000 in Local Government Area of Opportunity funding for multifamily housing in unincorporated Charlotte County, with applications due June 5, 2026. The money is tied to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's 2026-201 Housing Credits program, and the county's Charlotte HOME program may add more help. Subsidized multifamily housing puts work in front of homebuilders, framing, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC trades, plus the property managers, leasing agents, and landscapers who run the buildings once tenants move in. Charlotte was the one larger county to gain filings this week, at 81. Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners, Local Government Area of Opportunity RFA, 2026-05-04
• Charlotte County's Planning and Zoning Board reviewed major rezoning petitions at its April 13, 2026 meeting. One request would rezone 62.824 acres at 27544 Green Gulf Boulevard and 11711 Tamiami Trail from Residential Estate to Commercial General and environmentally sensitive designations. Another would rezone about 265 acres of Planned Development land plus 12.55 acres of Commercial General land into a new Planned Development allowing a mix of residential uses up to 999 units. Both would head to the county commission for a final vote. A rezoning that allows up to 999 homes plus new commercial land feeds homebuilders and site work crews, then real estate, property management, and the retail and service firms that follow rooftops. Commercial General acreage opens room for retail and small business space. Property holding was the region's largest group this week at 116 filings, a sign investors are positioning for exactly this kind of land use shift. Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board Regular Meeting Agenda, 2026-04-13
• Florida Gulf Coast University is expanding its health sciences program at its Fort Myers campus by building Academic Building 10 to train more healthcare workers for Southwest Florida. The project is in the design phase, with RG Architects and Hunton Brady Architects chosen as architects and the construction manager still to be named, and it sits in FGCU's capital plan for fiscal years 2025-2026 through 2029-2030. A new academic building means design and engineering work now and general contracting, concrete, steel, electrical, and finish trades once it moves to construction. The program itself aims to grow the local healthcare workforce, which supports the healthcare businesses that file here, 29 of them this week. FGCU Inside, May 2026, 2026-05-12
• Florida Gulf Coast University is building Eagle View Village near Gulf Coast Town Center in Lee County, described as the first employee housing community in the State University System of Florida. Phase 1 includes 74 units of one and two bedroom cottages and two and three bedroom townhomes built by Soltura Development Group. Construction is set to finish in December 2026. First residents move in January 2027 at rents about 20% below comparable local market rates. A 74 unit housing build keeps framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, and finish trades busy through year end, then hands off to property management, landscaping, cleaning, and maintenance firms once people move in. Suppliers of appliances, flooring, and fixtures gain orders as the units finish out. FGCU Employee Housing, 2026-05-01
• As part of the Terminal Expansion Project Phase 1 at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, a concession near the entrance to Concourse B closed on April 26, 2026, and construction began on a new restaurant and bar in that pre security spot. Terminal and roadway work at the airport creates jobs for construction, paving, and electrical contractors, plus food service operators, concession suppliers, staffing firms, and cleaning crews to run the new restaurant and bar. Hospitality and tourism filed 49 new businesses in the region this week, a pool that benefits from more airport capacity. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), Projects & Development, 2026-04-26

The week's count fell, mostly out of Lee County and Fort Myers, but the work for people selling to new businesses did not dry up. Goods movers stood out: wholesale and distribution ran near three times its usual pace and manufacturing jumped to 13, so suppliers, warehouse and freight firms, and equipment vendors have a fresh list to call. Construction and trades held near the top at 70 filings, and the cited road, housing, and airport projects across Collier, Charlotte, and Lee show why that pipeline holds. Builders, site work crews, property managers, and the accounting, insurance, and legal firms those new ventures need are best placed to act this week, with the steadiest pace in Lehigh Acres and Punta Gorda.

These counts come from new business filings recorded with the State of Florida for the eight counties of Southwest Florida: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Lee. We group filings into plain industry categories and tally them by county and city. We wait about two weeks after a week ends for the state to finish recording all of its filings, so the counts here are complete and accurate, not a partial early read.

Frequently asked questions

Did business formation really drop this week?

Yes. The region recorded 716 filings, down 124 from 840 the week before, a 14.8% drop. Most of that came from Lee County and Fort Myers. The count was still 2.3% above the same week last year.

Where is the activity concentrated?

In two counties. Lee and Collier together held 573 of the 716 filings, close to 80% of the total. Naples, Cape Coral, and Fort Myers led the cities.

Which sectors are worth chasing right now?

Property holding led at 116 filings, and construction and trades held strong at 70. Wholesale and distribution and manufacturing both ran well above their normal pace, so suppliers, warehouse, and freight firms have a larger than usual pool of new prospects.