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Naples Daily News (Florida)
New renderings of Hertz Arena in Estero show it could be a little less sunny and a lot more gray.
Concept plans for the building filed with the village of Estero display step-style bands of gray and yellow staggered around the arena, formerly known as Germain Arena.
Initial paint color plans for the arena, released in September, showed the outside of the building covered in a shade of bright yellow that is synonymous with the Hertz brand.
The more subdued paint scheme is scheduled for presentation at a public hearing before the Village of Estero's Design Review Board at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Members of the Design Review Board will decide whether to approve the updated paint colors. A permit must be issued for the transformation.
Estero's Design Review Board reviews landscaping and architecture of new development in the south Lee County community. The board first reviewed plans for the arena's paint scheme at a public information meeting at the end of September.
Hertz announced it signed a naming rights agreement for the arena in September.
Hertz's initial plans to coat the home of the Florida Everblades with bright yellow paint didn't sit well with many Estero residents, including the town's mayor.
Readers of The News-Press and Naples Daily News Facebook pages had plenty of strong opinions about the plans for the hockey arena - from comparing the chosen yellow to Heinz mustard to calling the proposal an eyesore.
One commenter said, "That color Hertz my eyes."
Estero Mayor Jim Boesch didn't hold back on his feelings either after seeing the first proposal, which he said definitely didn't fit with the town's preferred warmer Mediterranean or softer Old Florida styles.
After reviewing the plans, Boesch said he didn't think they've changed enough to meet the town's rules.
"That yellow, I don't believe that is listed in our color codes," he said.
The Village Council won't likely have a say in the matter, however.
Because it's only a change in the paint color, that's a decision that's usually made solely by the Design Review Board.
The only way the council would get involved in the color choice is if the Design Review Board votes in favor of it and the decision is appealed. Hertz could file an appeal if the paint color is denied, for example, or an unhappy neighbor could if it's approved.
There's a $1,000 cost to file an appeal, and not just anyone could file an appeal.
The Estero arena's color scheme has come before the village's Design Review Board before and faced opposition.
In May 2017, representatives for Germain Arena presented plans to repaint the arena in shades of blue, white and gray that didn't go over well.
The initial plans, which included a blue stripe around the middle of the building, didn't match Estero's design standards, board members said.
Arena representatives ended up revising the design, which the board approved at another meeting later in the same month.
"Hertz is no different than anybody else that comes to us," Boesch said "We don't give exceptions to give people special consideration. They have to go by the requirements that are necessary for the village."
At the first public meeting on Hertz's plans, most Design Review Board members said they needed work before they could be approved. Discussion at the meeting focused on whether the proposed colors adhered to Estero's land development codes.
Most development in Estero follows Mediterranean architecture and design.
In a company statement, Hertz said it revised its design based on the feedback from neighboring communities and the Design Review Board.
"As part of that process, we've partnered with a local architect to help us with the design," the company stated. "We've also reached out to the neighborhoods in close proximity to Hertz Arena for their input on the new direction of the design."
In a phone interview Monday, Thomas Barber, a Design Review board member, said he hadn't seen Hertz's latest rendering so he didn't know any of the details.
"I'd rather not comment on it until the meeting," he said.
This isn't the first time Hertz has proposed something that doesn't fit with Estero's usual mold.
Rather than having a Mediterranean look, Hertz's headquarters is modern, sleek and translucent with a mass of windows, rather than a mass of concrete. Estero's Community Planning Panel gave it a stamp of approval in November 2013, although it's like no other building in town, before the village was incorporated. That paved the way for Lee County to approve the project administratively, with a signoff by staff, and without another public hearing.
Estero Design Review Board meeting
What: Public hearing ā Hertz, Repainting, Germain Arena
When:5:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: 9401 Corkscrew Palms Circle
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