Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
There’s a long way to go, but plans to rebuild the Naples Pier continue to move forward.
City Council heard an update on the multimillion-dollar project Tuesday, with the design plans now virtually 100% complete.
The pier, destroyed by Hurricane Ian, will be built stronger and taller, with new features, including more shaded areas and more seating to take in the Gulf views.
Here’s more to know from the brief update, shared at a workshop:
What’s the next step?
The city is developing the bid documents to meet the guidelines set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to ensure the project qualifies for reimbursement. The reimbursement could be as high as 90% for the eligible parts of construction tied to Ian.
Based on the latest estimates from the engineers, the project could cost up to $22.5 million, with contingencies.
More information can be found here: naplesgov.com/parksrec/page/naples-pier-approved-design
Read the full post on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your home in Naples, southwest Florida.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
A posh Port Royal compound in Naples has made national headlines as the most expensive home for sale in America.
A story about the listing first appeared in the Wall Street Journal, offered up as an exclusive to the publication by the seller’s agents. News – and marketing – has spread since then to other national and local media.
The price tag for the property: $295 million.
What’s for sale?
Known as Gordon Pointe, the gated compound stretches a little over 9 acres. It includes about 708 feet of beachfront and Gulf of Mexico views, 952 feet of bay views, an “exclusive and extremely rare” yacht basin, measuring 231 feet, and a T-shaped dock for up to six boats.
What else does it offer?
There is not just one, but three houses on the property, built over time. There is also the potential to redevelop the site, …according to the selling agents.
Read the full story with photos on naplesnews.com.
Resale going for $32.5 million
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
A penthouse in Naples has been listed for a whopping $32.5 million.
That makes it the most expensive condo resale on the market in the city, according to the Southwest Florida Multiple Listing Service. Here’s more to know about the offering:
Where is it located?
It’s in The Seasons at Naples Cay. Located at 81 Seagate Drive, the 22-story building has been described as “an intimate experience,” with a total of 43 condos.
When was it built?
The gated beachfront high-rise tower, offering views of the Gulf of Mexico and Outer Clam Bay, was completed in 2002. The residence, known for short as PH20, however, was recently redesigned.
How big is it?
It boasts 16,803 total square feet, with 11,960 of that space indoors, and 4,843 of it on outdoor terraces. There are five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
What else does it offer?
The home includes floor-to-ceiling glass windows throughout, with panoramic views of the Gulf, the city and “beyond.”
Read about “Other notable features” and view photos on naplesnews.com.
Watch the video on YouTube.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your luxury home in Naples, southwest Florida.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
Just days into 2024, Bonita Beach saw a record home sale of $12.9 million.
It beat the previous high paid for a single-family home on the beach by more than half a million dollars, set in October.
Property records show the new record sale closed on Jan. 3.
Not surprisingly, the 5,300-square-foot beachfront residence in Bonita Springs has plenty to boast about, from its open-floor-plan design and beachfront entertainment deck to its floating wood beam ceilings and smart home lighting and automation systems.
“This residence is a showcase of visionary design, both inside and out. No details were overlooked. Built to the most current and stringent codes with concrete block construction, it is a beachfront masterpiece with exquisite features and finishes,” said Doug Grant, with John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate’s Grant Group, who represented the sellers.
Read the full article with photos on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your new home in Bonita Springs, Florida.
December Market Report: Home Inventory is Rising
Naples, Fla. (January 30, 2023) – According to the December 2023 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), overall inventory increased 45.9 percent to 3,949 properties from 2,706 properties in December 2022. The report showed consistent monthly increases in inventory during the year, which means more options for buyers in 2024; especially in the condominium market, which reported a 78.7 percent increase in inventory. However, according to broker analysts reviewing the December report, the housing market faced several challenges in 2023: rising interest rates, rising insurance rates, and rising inflation. Brokers also point to increased personal travel in 2023 as another reason home sales lagged in 2023. As a result, closed sales in 2023 decreased 13.6 percent to 8,816 closed sales from 10,206 closed sales in 2022.
Despite the challenges, there were seven months in 2023 when new listings increased more than new listings reported in comparative months in 2022. For December, new listings increased 12.1 percent to 892 new listings from 796 new listings in December 2022. Interestingly, unlike other industries that experience a reduction in price when supply increases, the Naples area housing market enjoyed a 9.7 percent increase in overall median closed price in December to $631,000 from $575,000 in December 2022. In comparison, according to the National Association of Realtors, the median existing-home price in the U.S. increased 4.4 percent in December to $382,000 from $366,000 in December 2022.
“Migration is booming in eastern Collier County,” said Cindy Carroll, of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers & Consultants, LLC, who added that it is one of the “last vestiges of affordable housing in our county”. Not surprising, in 2023, the Immokalee/Ave Maria area was the only geographic area tracked by NABOR® that reported an increase in single family home closed sales (+34.1 percent). Conversely, the report indicated a 24.8 percent decrease in closed sales for single family homes nearest the beach.
Carroll added that according to her records, “Rapid market advancement stopped in early 2022. On average, it takes 12 to 24 months for the market to readjust. What we are seeing now are more sellers accepting that this phase is over. And that’s why there was a 29.6 percent increase in the number of price decreases reported in 2023.”
The NABOR® December 2023 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2023:
In response, Mike Hughes, Vice President and General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc., commented, “More choices don’t seem to outweigh the other factors facing buyers right now, and so buyer sense of urgency has diminished. It isn’t like 2021 when a home would be listed and sold in the same day. Plus, many people today are hoping the Fed will drop rates again. But I always remind people that ‘if you see a property you like, there are likely many others who will like it too.’ As we say in the business, ‘marry the house and date the rate’ as you can always look into refinancing if rates go down.”
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
Why the Festival began
Two plus decades ago, “A lot of us were new to town, and we realized that not one penny of tax dollars in Collier County went to children’s social services. That’s still the case. We were shocked by that,” said Denise.
For fiscal year 2022-23, Collier County collected nearly $1.4 billion in taxes.
Another fact: Collier ranks second among Florida’s 67 counties with the most significant wealth disparities among its residents.
Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives over the past 24 years, NCEF has distributed funds to nearly 90 nonprofits in Collier County, providing services and resources to more than 55% (300,000 so far) of local at-risk and underprivileged kids.
While the event is glamorous, the people behind it are a grassroots group who developed the blueprint for transforming the community.
‘We wanted a rock-star event’
Brian and Denise Cobb were among three couples attending a wine auction in 1999 to benefit Youth Haven, the nonprofit in Naples whose mission is “To provide home, hope and healing to abused and neglected children” in Southwest Florida. That evening raised $170,000, considered quite the sum back then, with most of it coming from their table.
Forty people attended, a good percentage of whom also served on the board of the local Boys and Girls Club chapter, then working out of a double-wide trailer in East Naples. That charity’s mission is to “empower all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”
They started to discuss creating an event to benefit both nonprofits.
Comprising eight couples and a singleton, each co-founder put in $10,000 as working capital, coincidentally the total amount Youth Haven raised from their auction.
They started assigning roles.
“The beauty of it all was that we were couples, where most charities have women or some men who do it, but never couples as a group working together.”
“That ended up being the secret sauce,” Denise added.
“The peer pressure of couples working together is tremendous because nobody wants to drop the ball. There’s camaraderie, but you must also carry your weight. The other dynamic is that every one of us worked for a living, and that had a different kind of thought pattern. We also tried to think very big. We wanted a rock star event from day one,” said Brian.
Strategic planning started on day one
Denise and Brian Cobb pose for a photo at their home in Naples on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.
Beginning in November 1999, the gang of 17 oenophiles met weekly for more than a year, planning the dinner and auction components for the first event scheduled for February 2001.
Read the full article and view photos on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your next home in Naples, Florida.
