Q: At Gateway Shoppes at North Bay in North Naples at Wiggins Pass Road, there is a lot of construction going on. Most of the parking lot is closed. Do you know what’s going on? Thanks! — Mark Marowski, Bonita Springs

A: Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.

The plaza, built in 2008 by Benderson Development, is seeing a major renovation as large inline spaces vacated by DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Norris Home Furnishings as well as some smaller vacant retail units are demolished to build a proposed 54,000-square-foot supermarket at 13585 Tamiami Trail N. Contrary to some incorrect media reports, Publix is not moving into the Lucky’s Market end space but rather taking only the northernmost sliver of the defunct grocer’s space to punch an opening through the building to create a drive-thru lane for the new supermarket’s pharmacy.

Asphalt has been removed in many spots within a large cordoned-off area of Gateway Shoppes’ parking lot between the Guitar Center store and the abandoned Lucky’s Market. Detour signs direct traffic around this major construction zone in the middle of the retail center.

Expect about an 18-month construction project there. The overall project for the supermarket, which includes an adjacent Publix Liquors store, is not targeted for completion until May 2026, according to Collier County Growth Management.

Publix Super Markets is not expected to begin vertical construction of its store until next August, said John Lyon, project manager of Benderson’s initial site work ahead of the construction of Publix, which still needs county permitting approval.

“There’s a lot of preparatory work before they can get in there and their contractor can get started,” Lyon said.

The redevelopment project includes demolition to about 57,548 square feet of existing retail and office space, changes to the center’s parking lot and traffic lanes, as well as modifications to the stormwater infrastructure and utilities within the project area. Minor modifications to surrounding businesses also are proposed. Lucky’s former space at 13583 Tamiami Trail N. will be downsized to 22,403 square feet and then split into two retail units, site plans show.

Will Publix be the catalyst necessary to revitalize Gateway Shoppes and attract prospective tenants to fill its numerous vacant retail units? Time will tell, of course, but large vacancies will remain in the former Bed Bath & Beyond store, the endcap space left behind by Lucky’s, the space vacated by Panera Bread and the new outparcel units next to Kelly’s Roast Beef, which is targeted to open before the end of the year.

Publix has two other major construction projects in Collier County. In addition to building a new supermarket on the footprint of its longtime store in Neapolitan Way Plaza in Naples, Publix has a new store taking shape in the future Shoppes at Orange Blossom just east of Palmetto Ridge High School on Oil Well Road in Golden Gate Estates.

New Home Depot planned

Q: What is planned for where the WAVV radio station was recently torn down on Tamiami Trail East? — Howard Ripps, East Naples

A: The 1.38-acre property on U.S. 41 East that formerly was the longtime home to WAVV radio station is part of a strip of land proposed by national retailer Home Depot for its third store in Collier County. The small parcel is part of the bigger plan to locate the big-box home improvement store on a narrow band of mostly undeveloped land totaling 13.79 acres on the south side of the East Trail, just south of Barefoot Williams Road and to the north of Habitat Road.

The multinational chain, which already operates stores in East Naples and North Naples, considers this proposed location its Southeast Naples store. Atlanta-based Home Depot USA purchased the radio studio property at 11800 Tamiami Trail E. in October 2022 for $2.1 million. That included the recently razed 3,124-square-foot residential-style structure built in 1987 that served as the radio station’s home for about 30 years.

Home Depot has been fairly quiet so far about its plans for another store, said Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro, who represents that district.

“Home Depot is not putting a shovel in the ground tomorrow. They don’t have permits for anything,” he said.

In fact, LoCastro is surprised that Home Depot already bought the land, which includes six contiguous parcels.

“That one’s a little bit funky because it’s multiple parcels. I am sure that all the parcels are not zoned for commercial,” LoCastro said. “That would be one that probably would have to come to commissioners, because one of the parcels is zoned residential, I believe, so that would have to be rezoned. So, a rezone is automatically coming to us.”

Home Depot has petitions under county staff review for a planned unit development zoning request, as well as a growth management plan amendment request. The latest plans filed with the county’s Growth Management department show a proposal to build a 107,709-square-foot stand-alone Home Depot store with an associated 28,018-square-foot garden center on its southeast end and a lumber pickup area and tool rental center on its northwest end. Plans show 445 on-site parking spaces, but some of those are earmarked for a seasonal sales area; shopping cart corrals; shed and trailer displays; and equipment and truck rental. More than a third of the acreage will be open space such as dry retention areas and a preserve of protected native vegetation.

By the way, WAVV 101.1 FM still exists as an easy listening station; its physical studios are just not located in East Naples anymore. Fort Myers Broadcasting Co. purchased the radio station’s license and a long-term lease on the radio tower in September 2022, but the local broadcaster did not buy the real estate where the studios were for decades. Naples-based Alpine Broadcasting Corp. and the family of late founder Norman Alpert owned the property, which they sold that fall to Home Depot, county property records show.

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.