Editing Cape Coral, Florida (section)

==History==
The original inhabitants around the Cape Coral area were the [[Calusa]]. After Florida became a state in 1845, multiple pioneers started selling and buying land in what is now Cape Coral under the [[Homestead Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chestnut |first=Cathy |title=Cape Coral has plenty of history, pioneers and stories |date=July 13, 2014 |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2014/07/13/cape-coral-plenty-history-pioneers-stories/12568221/ |work=News-Press |location=Fort Myers, Florida}}</ref> Cape Coral's modern history began in 1957 when two brothers from [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]], Leonard and Jack Rosen, flew over the peninsula known as Redfish Point, across the [[Caloosahatchee River]] near present-day [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]]. The brothers, who were real estate developers, purchased a {{convert|103|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} tract with a small group of partners for $678,000 and in 1958 began development of the city as a planned community.<ref name=founded>{{Cite web|title=History of Cape Coral|url=https://capecoralmuseum.org/history-of-cape-coral/|website=capecoralmuseum.org}}</ref>

The [[Gulf American Land Corporation|Gulf American Land Corporation (GALC)]] was formed to develop the area. GALC developed a marketing model that was a departure from traditional selling methods. Approval was secured from Lee County to master-plan the entire property into lots. Instead of listing the lots with real estate agents, GALC developed the land sales, dinner-party model, operating from banquet rooms in local hotels. People were invited to attend by offering a free dinner for two. The model, referred to as team-selling, allowed for a well-trained team to close deals in 90 minutes. Buyers would sign a contract and agree to come to the property within six months and cancel if not satisfied. Ezio Valentini, an Italian real estate developer, joined GALC and became director of sales. The program was so successful that offices were opened in 24 states, and an arrangement was made with an airline to charter flights to fly buyers to the property.

Instead of borrowing from banks and lenders, the developers [[Factoring (finance)|factored]] the sales contracts to pay for building the infrastructure. [[Canal]]s were dug (without first obtaining state permits, an omission which later bankrupted GALC)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/28/be-thankful-you-dont-live-in-this-florida-city-which-is-trying-to-punish-its-own-citizens/ |title=Be thankful you don't live in this Florida city, which is trying to punish its own citizens |first=Craig |last=Pittman |date=November 28, 2024 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Florida Phoenix}}</ref>), streets paved, houses and businesses built.<ref>Newsday, [http://www.robertcaro.com/journalism/in-florida-the-pitch-is-high-and-hard/ "In Florida, the Pitch Is High and Hard"], Robert A. Caro, 1963</ref> Cape Coral was promoted like no other Florida development. Celebrities were brought in to tout the benefits of "the Cape", as it is known locally. The first building in Cape Coral was the Rosens' sales office. It was built where George's Auto now stands, at Cape Coral and Coronado Parkways.<ref name=":0" /> Cape Coral's first permanent resident was Kenny Schwartz, the Rosens' general manager.<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article1983652.html Miami Herald: "Real estate executive and Jewish leader Kenneth Schwartz dies at 88" By Carli Teproff] August 28, 2014</ref> Cape Coral's first four homes were completed in May 1958, on Riverside and Flamingo Drives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Photos |publisher=Cape Coral Historical Museum |access-date=October 9, 2008 |url=http://www.capecoralhistoricalmuseum.org/page8.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204084033/http://www.capecoralhistoricalmuseum.org/page8.html |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Development continued through the early 1960s, mostly on Redfish Point, south of Cape Coral Parkway. By 1963, the population was 2,850; 1,300 buildings had been finished or were under construction; {{convert|80|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of road had been built, and {{convert|160|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of canals had been dug.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} The public yacht club, a golf course, medical clinic and shopping center were up and running. A major addition for Cape Coral was the construction of the {{convert|3,400|ft|m}} long [[Cape Coral Bridge]] across the Caloosahatchee River, which opened in early 1964. Before the bridge, a trip to Fort Myers was more than {{convert|20|mi|0|abbr=on}} via Del Prado Boulevard and over the [[Edison Bridge (Florida)|Edison Bridge]] to cross the river.

The city incorporated on August 18, 1970,<ref name=CCInc>{{Cite web|title=Cape Coral Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Incorporation|url=https://www.capecoral.gov/news_detail_T13_R206.php|website=capecoral.gov}}</ref> and its population continued to grow rapidly until the real estate slowdown that gripped the region beginning in 2008.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} On September 28, 2022, Cape Coral suffered major damage when [[Hurricane Ian]] made landfall nearby.