More than a decade after its first approval, Naples Square is continuing to grow as a luxury mixed-use development.
On Oct. 16, Naples City Council voted 6-1, with Mayor Teresa Heitmann voting nay, to approve a downsizing of a proposed restaurant on nearly an acre, Tract C-1, at 325 12th Street S. The mayor had cited concerns about mechanical equipment on the roof, which will be screened.
“We’re getting to the point where we’re finally building out this piece of property that used to be a lot of sand and dirt,” Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison said, adding that stormwater runoff used to pool in the area that will be developed.
Naples Square, at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road, was first approved by Council in 2013 as a walkable community close to downtown. It continues to grow after its fourth condominium, Quattro, was completed in late 2022. Quattro’s 61 homes are nearly sold out, according to Naples developer The Ronto Group. It’s designed by MHK Architecture of Naples, with landscaping by Architectural Land Design Inc.
“The site plan amendment application represents a downsizing in terms of the square footage of the one-story building footprint, as compared to the site plan that the City Council approved in 2021,” land-use attorney Clay Brooker, of Cheffy Passidomo, told Council.
The new plans by WSR Naples Square Commercial, an affiliate of The Ronto Group, reduce the size of the restaurant building from 5,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet, with 500 square feet of outdoor dining space. The maximum development potential was 5,291 square feet. Parking, utilities and traffic circulation remain as approved.
Approval was recommended by the city’s Planning Advisory Board, which approved it 4-3, citing concerns about stormwater and maintaining the stormwater system. Since then, Brooker said, they met with the president of the master residential association, which agreed on an annual inspection plan and to share the cost of system maintenance.
Engineer Jeff Wasko, of Barraco and Associates Inc., said drainage will connect to Naples Square’s water management system, a retention rock chamber that captures all runoff, including roof drainage. Water quality volume was approved by the South Florida Water Management District.
City staff agreed the infrastructure is sufficient to accommodate the additional development.
Mark McLean, of MHK, said it’s a small restaurant that’s almost identical to the preliminary design approved by the city Design Review Board and it must return to the DRB for a final review.
On Sept. 18, Council barely approved a new three-story building at Naples Square, Encore, which features 15 luxury homes on two floors sitting atop 6,825 square feet of retail, commercial and office space.
Plans have gone back and forth since 2021, when Council approved a revised site plan with two one-floor commercial buildings, more than 15,000 square feet that included 1,790 square feet of outdoor dining on a 1.82-acre site.
The developer revised it again a year later, asking for a mixed-use building with homes, a 7,500-square-foot restaurant with 2,900 square feet of outdoor seating. Ruth’s Chris Steak House was suggested, but neighbors opposed it due to traffic and noise concerns. The DRB also objected to the size, so the commercial portion was then reduced.
