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‘Community jewel’: Reimagining of exclusive club in affluent Naples neighborhood clears hurdle

‘Community jewel’: Reimagining of exclusive club in affluent Naples neighborhood clears hurdle

Laura Layden | Naples Daily News

A bigger and better Port Royal Club is one step closer to reality in Naples.

The city’s planning advisory board voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of the multimillion-dollar project, with a few added conditions.

Built in 1959, the one-story private 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.

Hurricane Ian wrought so much damage to the clubhouse that it could not be salvaged.

The planning advisory board has recommended approval of three petitions for the reconstruction.

City council will hear the petitions on June 19, making the ultimate decision on them.

For the project to move ahead as proposed, council must grant the conditional use for a new two-story clubhouse, and give a thumbs up to site-specific parking plans, including valet services. The roughly 5.5-acre site sits in a public service district, which allows for such a project, with a special exception.

With a West Indies look, fitting of its name, the reimagined clubhouse will meet the latest hurricane standards, while offering a larger footprint, with more dining options. The goal is to preserve the charm of it as much as possible, with a design that will stand the test of time, lasting another 70 years.

The building will be elevated, to meet the current guidelines, established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Dick Del Bello, president of the Port Royal Property Owners’ Association, urged the planning board to support the project, saying his board of directors is wholeheartedly behind it.

The loss of the club, he said, has left a “devastating hole” in the community.

Read the full story on naplesnews.com.

To view luxury homes currently for sale in Port Royal contact David at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

Hellfire Burger to goat cheese pizza: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema menu offers variety

Hellfire Burger to goat cheese pizza: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema menu offers variety

Dave Osborn | Naples Daily News

There’s movie theater popcorn and then there’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema popcorn.

Picking the film will be the easy part. Movie-goers will then have to choose from the traditional Bottomless Popcorn ($9.95, with real butter and free refills); Truffle Herb Parmesan Popcorn ($11.95); and Churro Popcorn ($11.95, “tossed with custom blend of cinnamon, sugar, maple & vanilla”).

The new theater at Mercato in North Naples opens April 29, in the same location as Silverspot, which opened in 2009 ― one year after the outdoor shopping and entertainment center opened.

With so many food and drink choices, if Billy Joel tried to include them all in a song, it would be longer than his 4½-minute 1989 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

What else to know about the movie house.

More than Goobers and Gummi Bears
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema serves candy including M&M’s and Sour Patch Kids, but it’s the extensive menu for food and drinks that makes it stand out more than most other movie house companies.

There are 11 starters, including the three popcorn options but also healthier choices like vegan cauliflower bites and avocado toast; seven sandwiches, from the Hellfire Burger to the Beyond Meat Vegan Burger; four salads; three entrees, including fish & chips; seven pizzas choices, including Brussels Sprout, Bacon & Goat Cheese; five flavors of shakes; and four kids only options, like mini-corn dogs.

And the drink options are about as robust, with 24 beers on draft; 11 “bottles and cans” choices for beers, White Claw and more; nine red wines, such as a $120 bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Noir from Oregon; six white wines; five rose and sparkling; and a dozen signature cocktails, like the Habanero Margarita, Alamo Old Fashioned and Bourbon Peach Smash.

There’s more: 17 whiskeys, including a couple 10-year bourbons; nine agaves; five gins; seven rums; five vodkas; two Brandies; three “boozy shakes”; and one non-alcoholic drink (Seedlip Grove 42).

Read the full article on naplesnews.com.

There are many wonderful home ownership opportunities in Naples and the surrounding Southwest Florida areas of Bonita Springs and Marco Island? Contact David to find a home that suits your needs, Call 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

Travel news: Breeze Airways adds Fort Myers as ‘base of operations’ starting in October

Travel news: Breeze Airways adds Fort Myers as ‘base of operations’ starting in October

Mark H. Bickel | Fort Myers News-Press

It’s not like Breeze Airways wasn’t already “all in” when it comes to serving travelers in Southwest Florida. But now the popular airline has increased its presence here in an even bigger way.

Breeze announced recently that it is making Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers (RSW) its ninth base of operations nationally and third in Florida, starting October 1.

What is an airlines ‘base of operations’?
According to a Breeze Airways press release, Breeze will now overnight aircraft, beginning with three aircraft, and the airport will be a crew base for pilots and flight attendants.

Read more about Breeze Airways flights in and out of Southwest Florida here.

Naples and the surrounding Southwest Florida areas of Bonita Springs and Marco Island offer many lovely homes for seasonal and year round living. Contact David to find a home that suits your needs, Call 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

Collier County recognized as Florida’s most generous county, according to study

Collier County recognized as Florida’s most generous county, according to study

Mark H. Bickel | Fort Myers News-Press

There are 67 counties in the state of Florida, but only one can say it is the most generous. Collier County.

SmartAsset analyzed IRS data to determine the places where residents were donating the most money and Collier finished at the top of the rankings ahead of No. 2 Monroe County and No. 3 Walton County.

What to know about SmartAsset’s generosity study

The study calculated how much people donate as a percentage of their net income and the proportion of people in each county who make charitable donations.
The study takes into account charitable contributions as a percentage of net income and the proportion of taxpayers that made a charitable contribution of any amount in a given county.
For contributions as a percentage of income, Collier County recorded 2.8%.
For percentage of returns itemizing charitable contributions, Collier recorded 11.5%.
Collier’s Charitable County Index score is 50.48, edging Monroe (49.67).

Read about the Methodology of the generosity study on naplesnews.com.

Virtual reality. Zipline. Translucent tubes. A lot of firsts for Great Wolf Lodge in Fla.

Virtual reality. Zipline. Translucent tubes. A lot of firsts for Great Wolf Lodge in Fla.

Phil Fernandez | Naples Daily News

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series on Florida’s first Great Wolf Lodge, one of the most significant endeavors in Naples history that’s drawing plenty of questions from you. One of Collier County’s biggest private workplaces, the 530,000-square-foot retreat and water park is slated as Southwest Florida’s third largest employer in tourism, drawing by itself the same number of visitors in a year that all of Collier in its entirety attracts in nearly three months time.

If you thought the $250 million Great Wolf Lodge was just about a 500-room resort and a 92,000-square-foot water park, think again when it comes to its Florida debut slated for September.

For the first time ever, Great Wolf Lodge will be featuring numerous new high-flying and futuristic attractions in its upcoming next generation Florida location that hasn’t previously been offered at its 20 other properties.

In the Know got an early first peek ahead of a Thursday Naples reveal of what’s in store for Southwest Florida, and nearly all of it doesn’t involve getting wet at the locale off I-75 and Collier Boulevard.

Here’s what to know.

What new attraction will be above Great Wolf Lodge’s Adventure Park?
The Howlers Peak Ropes Course will feature its first indoor zipline element, stretching 150 feet in length and providing a 180-degree panoramic view of the 60,000-square-foot newly imagined Adventure Park, which is entered from the resort’s Grand Lobby by traversing under a canopy of mossy branches and twinkling lights.

The course itself provides families the opportunity to balance on ropes, cross bridges and climb through obstacles, with the safety of a harness.

Where will new Great Wolf ‘harness-free climbing expedition’ take you? Read more on naplesnews.com.

City council rejects proposal for more hotel rooms on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples

City council rejects proposal for more hotel rooms on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples

Laura Layden |Naples Daily News

In a unanimous decision, city council denied plans for new hotel rooms on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples, seeing them as the wrong fit.

The vote came Wednesday, just weeks after a city election, with three new faces on council.

Much of the campaigning in the election centered around growth and development, with the word “overdevelopment” often bantered about, as a threat to the city’s small-town charm.

Two of the new councilors garnered strong support from builders and developers in their campaigns, leading some residents to fear their influence on decision-making for current and future projects.

Bill Kramer, one of those councilors, described the proposal for hotel rooms as trying to stuff 100 pounds of flour into a 50-pound bag. Others on the board agreed.

Council unilaterally saw the hotel rooms, included as part of a new mixed-used building, as overdevelopment. The rooms would have sat atop a new restaurant.

Read more about the discussion and decision on naplesnews.com.

Naples and the surrounding Southwest Florida areas of Bonita Springs and Marco Island offer many lovely homes for seasonal and year round living. Contact David to find a home that suits your needs, Call 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com