Plans are in the works this summer and fall to reimagine the Mercato mixed-use development in North Naples as an elevated entertainment hub and “a walkable, experiential oasis.”

North American Properties, which manages and markets Mercato, joined center owner PGIM Real Estate in sharing its vision for upgrading common areas at the popular local destination. Plans call for tripling the size of Mercato’s 3,000-square-foot Piazza that extends between Bravo Italian Kitchen and Narrative Coffee Roasters to create a more connected, pedestrian-friendly environment throughout the center.

“While Mercato does have a few small social gathering spots, it’s missing a central space that can host large-scale events and encourage guests to stay a while,” said Nick Lombardo, vice president of development at NAP. “We’re looking forward to redefining the Piazza and creating a lively experience for our guests.”

Changes will include a permanent covered performance stage in the Piazza area in front of the Narrative coffee shop and the new Waxin’s restaurant and bar opening soon next to Burntwood Tavern. The expanded Piazza with additional turf, seat walls, benches, landscaping and lighting, will be designed to accommodate Mercato’s many events. The trunk and branches of the huge banyan tree on the corner near Bravo will be illuminated with custom-made lanterns and color-changing LED lights.

The green space will be lowered to street level, allowing guests to comfortably venture onto Strada Place—Mercato’s main street—when it’s closed to vehicle traffic. On the other side of the street, some of the on-street parking spaces will be removed to expand the sidewalk for a new lounge area between Lovesac and the future Beeline Ales & Spirits corner bar. A branded mural of Mercato’s colorful logo will be painted on the street’s brick pavers to serve as a crosswalk and a connector of the two activity zones.

The project’s construction is expected to begin in mid-July and is targeted for completion by November. Once the new space is created, movies, concerts and other events will no longer be hosted on the small lawn space east of Rocco’s Tacos.

“The goal is kind of to bring everything centralized,” said Lauren Ness, NAP media relations manager. “At other properties where we have this centralized green space, it in turn then kind of supports all of our tenants, because you’ve got everyone in kind of the heartbeat of the property, and then they spill out and then they shop, they go to restaurants, things like that. So that’s kind of the goal, to give those events a more centralized home.”

While that part of the street is temporarily closed during events, such as Cars and Coffee 239, Asia Fest and art shows, Strada Place’s brick road is not expected to be permanently closed to vehicular traffic.

“I don’t think that will ever permanently close,” Ness said. “We’re painting the crosswalk right there to kind of give it more of a presence, and then we’ll be able to close it just for certain events.”

Mercato’s prominent annual Christmas tree will continue in the Piazza even though the new stage will upstage its traditional spot a bit.

“They’ll probably have to reconfigure a little bit, just obviously with the placement,” Ness said. “I think the goal would be to be able to host our tree lighting in this kind of centralized plaza area, and then just shift where the tree would be a little bit.”

In August 2022, NAP entered a management agreement with PGIM to reposition the 450,000-square-foot Mercato development as a people-oriented entertainment hub. The latest project, aimed at strengthening Mercato’s relevance and relationship with the community, is focused on reinventing the public realm through modern placemaking trends, NAP notes. The placemaking approach to managing public spaces uses urban design principles to improve the physical elements while creating overall changes in how people emotionally experience it.

NAP has rolled out similar public space makeovers at other lifestyle centers that it manages and markets. For instance, Shake Shack is replacing P.F. Chang’s China Bistro as an anchor of the reimagined Ridge Hill hospitality-driven destination in Yonkers, New York, as the mall’s Town Square is redeveloped into more of a casual community gathering hub.

“It’s kind of like what we do,” Ness said about NAP. “It’s kind of like our bread-and-butter formula that we’ve come up with where we come into one of these properties that maybe needs a little extra love, or it’s a little dated, or whatever it is. And we try to create these kind of centralized community gathering spots.”

While NAP properties share some basic fundamentals, more shade is needed in Florida, so triangular shade structures will be added overhead at Mercato’s expanded common area, along with strings of lights to add ambiance, Ness said.

“So, for the little details, we really look to what the property is and the uniqueness and try to build it out a little bit more based on that,” she said.

Beyond the public realm overhaul, NAP’s leasing team has shifted Mercato’s merchandising strategy and started emboldening retailers to design storefronts that reflect their individual brand aesthetics, enhancing the pedestrian experience. Retailers and restaurateurs are encouraged to create more unique storefronts, Ness said.

“That is something I think is pretty unique to NAP, and something that our leasing team especially really pays attention to and works with the tenants on,” she said. “We encourage them to kind of have these more unique storefronts that really show off their brand and their personality. So, when you’re walking through our properties, you’re not just seeing the same white brick over and over and over again. Your attention is getting drawn to different places that are showing off all the different personalities. So, we do encourage that.”

For instance, Old Vines recently expanded its outdoor dining space along the sidewalk and street in front of the new restaurant with umbrella tables and planters. Mercato’s fresh philosophy attracted several businesses to recently join the center’s lineup, including Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, iFlex, Lovesac, The Shade Store, Tempur-Pedic and Warby Parker. New businesses still coming this year include Beeline, Birch Lane, Tap 42 Craft Kitchen & Bar and Waxin’s.