Naples Pier restoration efforts moved forward in October with the 90% design plan being approved by Naples City Council. The complete design of the landmark, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, will be ready soon, city Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director Chad Merritt said.
Once the 100% design plan is finalized, the city will put the project out for bid.
Merritt provided a rundown to the Council at a Feb. 20 workshop on how layout of construction of the more than $20 million project and how it could affect surrounding areas.
“When you look at construction for a project of this magnitude, the more inconvenient we make it for a contractor, the more the price goes up, the more the timeline goes up,” Merritt said. “And we also decrease our chances of [attracting] bidders, so we have to be kind of careful on our approach because everybody’s means and methods are different.”
The plan is to close the public parking lot on Gulf Shore Boulevard South and 12th Avenue South to allow room for construction equipment. Only residents with driveway entrances will have access to 12th Avenue South to the west of Gulf Shore Boulevard leading toward the beach.
“We would love to conserve parking, but if we don’t provide an area there, we have to provide it somewhere. And if we make it inconvenient, then that’s going to be costly for us,” Merritt said.
Naples City Manager Jay Boodheshwar assured the community and neighborhood impact will be kept in mind when working out a contract with a construction company. He said public meetings will be hosted to share information on how local residents could be impacted by the development.
“We’re very sensitive to the neighborhood, and we’re sensitive to the fact that people still want to go to the beach even though the pier won’t be accessible,” Boodheshwar said. “Trying to figure out that balance of preserving some space for public access, parking and things like that will be an objective of ours, and we’ll try to find a good balance.”
The city continues to negotiate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on how much of the project can be reimbursed. Improvements to the pier, including a concession stand, landscape and shading enhancements, will not be covered.
FEMA originally was going to reimburse 75% of the projects impacted by Hurricane Ian, but after analyzing the scale of the disaster, the agency is increasing the federal cost share to 90%. The state will share the remaining costs, so the city will only be responsible for 5% of what is applicable under FEMA. Reimbursement could take up to three years.
Councilman Ted Blankenship said the city should examine other means of parking during construction since the heavily used parking lot outside the pier will be closed.
“We may want to consider temporarily making some additional pay parking somewhere else, not only for the money, but because I think the state and the county have an expectation that we provide a certain level of parking for visitors,” Blankenship said.
A specific date was not given for when the 100% design will be made public. The complete reconstruction is estimated to take 18 to 24 months.
