Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
City council unanimously approved a more than $24.6 million contract to rebuild the Naples Pier.
The approval came Wednesday, a little over two years after Hurricane Ian destroyed the iconic landmark on the Gulf of Mexico.
The contract includes a roughly $1.17 million contingency to “accommodate any unforeseen repairs or construction that may be required to complete the project,” equal to 5% of the bid price of nearly $23.46 million.
The city is still assessing impacts from Hurricane Helene, which did further damage last week to what remained of the pier.
Read the full article and see photos on naplesnews.com.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
The city’s Design Review Board has signed off on the plans for the new Port Royal Club in Naples.
On Wednesday, the board voted enthusiastically and unanimously in favor of the final design for a two-story, West Indies-style clubhouse, which will replace the iconic one destroyed by Hurricane Ian two years ago.
With that regulatory hurdle cleared, the city can now issue a building permit for the beachfront project, off Gordon Drive.
In a statement, the private, members-only club thanked its building committee, professional consultants and city staff for their help and support.
Further, the club expressed the Design Review Board’s approval marked “a significant step forward in our community’s recovery.”
The project, with an estimated price tag of $100 million, is expected to break ground in December.
Built in 1959, the original club, steps from the Gulf of Mexico, served as a social hub for Port Royal residents for decades. The right to membership is one of the reasons the wealthy have flocked to the community, named for the famous Jamaican pirate haven.
The reimagined club will have many new features, including more dining venues, a two-story parking garage, and an upgraded pool and pool deck. It has been designed to maximize views of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico, and to survive future hurricanes at a higher elevation.
Read the full story and see photos on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 for more information and to view luxury properties in Naples, Bonita Springs and Marco Island.
Charles Runnells | Naples Daily News
It’s official: Famous car enthusiast Jay Leno headlines next year’s Naples Automotive Experience, the multi-day event that includes the popular Cars on 5th.
The comedian and former host of The Tonight Show will perform stand-up comedy Thursday, Feb. 6, at Hertz Arena for Jay Leno Charity Comedy Night. Southwest Florida’s popular Ben Allen Band opens the show.
Leno will also attend an exclusive display of curated cars for a Friday, Feb. 7 event called The Ultimate Garage Tour with Jay Leno. Guests can mingle with him, learn about the cars’ history and enjoy live music, food and drinks.
In addition to Leno, Emmy Award-winning Hollywood stylist Brenda Cooper hosts a fashion event Friday, Feb. 7, called Forever Fabulous Women. The 1960s’ British-themed event includes Cooper sharing her fashion and styling secrets, a fashion show featuring clothing from the St. Matthew’s House Thrift Store fashion department, an English-style tea, a silent auction and a book signing with Cooper.
Read the full article and enjoy automobile photos on naplesnews.com.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
After much back and forth, Naples City Council narrowly approved a new mixed-use building downtown.
First approved by council in 2013, the larger planned development known as Naples Square, has continued to evolve at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road.
The new three-story building, known as Encore, will include 15 luxury homes on two floors, with 6,825 square feet of retail and office spaces sitting underneath.
The commercial uses could include a small cafe.
The hearing ran for hours, with several council members raising concerns about the project’s impact on everything from roads to water drainage – and questioning whether it violated city rules.
In the end, council voted 4-3 in favor of the project Wednesday.
Read more about this development on naplesnews.com.
Phil Fernandez | Naples Daily News
Golf is dying? Get your head out of the bunker.
Newly arriving and redeveloping golf courses and country clubs are major drivers for the Naples area’s booming construction industry fueling the local economy.
And 105 years after the first Collier County course that eventually became part of Naples Airport, there’s good reason for that: The sport is hotter than ever after last decade’s lull led to widespread predictions of pending doom.
Established in 1936, the National Golf Federation found that more rounds were played in 2023 than at any other time in its history, and it’s trending even higher this year and more than 10% ahead of where it was in leaner times prior to the pandemic, when new and younger enthusiasts discovered the hobby and others returned to it.
“COVID hit, and it was a run on golf,” said Jason Becker, who is founder of Naples-based Golf Life Navigators, which inspired by the E-Harmony concept matches prospective members with clubs, and makes appearances on Golf Radio Network podcasts geared toward private club managers. “What happened was all the golf courses became full.”
And that hasn’t subsided…Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Chad Gillis | Fort Myers News-Press
Hurricane Idalia brought hundreds of flamingos from Mexico to the eastern United State just over a year ago, and it appears some of the birds are lingering in the Sunshine State.
Florida has long had a love affair with American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber). Our lottery tickets boast the image of a flamingo, although some researchers doubt the bird actually lived here in large numbers.
There was even a town named Flamingo, which now exists as a major entry point into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
And now it seems the birds may be here to stay after being swept up by Hurricane Idalia and blown here.
Since Idalia, Florida has a least a few dozen of the giant pink birds, mostly strung along coastal preserves and undeveloped mangroves islands.
Standing about 5 feet tall and weighing up to 8 pounds, flamingos are distributed across much of the Caribbean.
Last summer the birds were strung out across much of the eastern United States, in places like Ohio ― more than 1,000 miles away from their home Mexico.
See photos and read where the flamingos have been seen on naplesnews.com.
Are you looking for a home in Southwest Florida? Contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 for more information and to view homes in Naples, Bonita Springs and Marco Island.
