FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Fort Myers City Council agreed to sell the old News-Press building to Tre Bel Housing and Procida Experience for $11 million on Monday night.

Monday’s council meeting revealed that another developer offered $17.4 million for the property at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fowler Street, but five city council members agreed to lower the cost because housing in the proposed development would be more affordable.

For years 170,000 square feet of space inside the old News-Press building has gone unused.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fort Myers City Council discusses future of News-Press building

Now that city council agreed to sell the building, leaders can finally move forward with new plans for the site.

The plan is to turn the space into 614 units of multi-family housing.

At least 100 of those units would be designated for attainable housing.

The plan would also add a full-service grocery store with parking, a park and 10,000 square feet of restaurants and retail shops.

They also agreed to set aside almost five acres for a new police station. Deal negotiations could take months to sort out before any growth is broken.