More than 104 acres of recreation and open space at the former Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club’s golf course will be forever preserved.
The 104.6-acre easement, representing 84% of the 125-acre property, was recorded by the city Oct. 29 and was the culmination of a collaboration between the city of Naples, Naples Beach Club, The Athens Group and nonprofit North American Land Trust, which has completed more than 600 conservation easements nationwide. It was executed by Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Jay Newman of The Athens Group, the Phoenix-based developer.
“There’s a lot of work and a lot of effort that goes into getting things through the process and making sure that it’s right,” City Manager Jay Boodheshwar told Council at its Nov. 6 meeting.
The historic Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Course, built in the 1920s and redesigned several times, sold for more than $362 million in 2021.
Council approved the easement about 2½ years ago, but it was held in escrow awaiting six required milestones before it could be recorded with the county Clerk of Courts. Among the last was issuing building permits for the Naples Beach Club, a 216-room luxury hotel with up to 185 luxury condominiums, restaurants, a golf course, spa and numerous amenities operated by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. It’s set to open in late 2025.
North American Land Trust holds the conservation easement, which provides the city with rights of enforcement as a successor holder. It’s unique because it’s in a residential neighborhood in the heart of Old Naples and preserves 70 contiguous acres that can never be redeveloped for residential or commercial use. It benefits public safety, as well as preserving scenic views, recreational opportunities and habitat for native birds and other wildlife.
The easement was prompted by several homeowner associations, including Old Naples Association, Coquina Sands, The Mooring and Aqualane Shores because The Athens group was seeking deviations to allow greater density in its project.
“In return they were willing to entertain an easement on the golf course property, which was zoned residential, and could have been developed … at great density,” council member Ray Christman said, noting the initial nonconservation easement could easily have been removed by Council and he and Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison voted against it.
The Athens Group remained open to the idea, the makeup of Council changed over elections and the city hired a law firm that found the land trust. There were “real heroes and leaders” who got it done, including HOAs and Council, Christman said, adding, “The Athens Group and their partners didn’t have to do this. This was a voluntary initiative.”
