City of Naples’ $16 million First Avenue parking garage is expected to open in February after experiencing delays due to hurricanes and heavy rains.
City Construction Manager Brad Hefner provided the Community Redevelopment Agency with a construction update Nov. 4, saying the schedule and contracts were affected by rains from August through October — Tropical Storm Debby and hurricanes Helene and Milton — that led to levels 28.99 inches above the 10-year average.
“This is abnormally wet and … we’re doing everything we can to address it,” Hefner told the CRA, which is composed of the seven City Council members.
The four-level, 364-space public garage, the city’s third, is being built on the south side of First Avenue, west of Goodlette-Frank Road and next to Naples Square. The land was provided by the Wynn family (Downtown Naples LLC) and Gulfshore Playhouse, whose new $60 million theater will benefit. It’s being paid for by CRA funds — from taxpayers whose homes and businesses are within the 550-acre CRA district, which is bounded by Seventh Avenue North, Gordon River, Sixth Avenue South and Third Street South.
It’s the second delay since the Dec. 31 groundbreaking for the garage, on the south side of First Avenue South and 12th Street South in the city’s Design District. An earlier delay during digging pushed the Dec. 31 completion to Jan. 31 and it’s now being delayed to Feb. 7. Crews have been working six days a week.
Last spring, while digging, workers found petroleum tanks, shock absorbers and a toxic chemical. Groundwater testing showed Dibenz[a,h]anthracene, a hazardous substance. Thousands of gallons of groundwater were removed, but testing showed it was below Florida Department of Environmental Protection groundwater cleanup target levels.
A total of 308 precast pieces, manufactured by Bartow-based Metromont were trucked to Naples and Pre-Con Construction workers began erecting them Aug. 9 and finished Sept. 14. On Sept. 6, various trades — electrical, plumbing, fire sprinklers, communications and others — began work in various zones of the structure.
The exterior has been painted white and installation of aluminum lattice on the sides has begun, Hefner said. The ground-floor slab was poured after the ground was fine graded, compacted and a moisture barrier was installed.
The biggest challenge, he said, was ensuring the transformer was trucked to the site without being affected by hurricanes. It’s now wired to Florida Power & Light power.
There will be two vehicle entrances, 12th Street South and First Avenue South, and the southeast corner of the second level will house a covered pocket park.
CRA member Beth Petrunoff commended workers for trying to adhere to the schedule after unforeseen delays, noting it went up quickly.
“I’ve been going by it every week and it really is shocking,” Petrunoff said. “You can actually see the progress every single week.”
Hefner said once the structure is up, there’s still a lot of work required before people can park there, including caulking joints. “For some consultants and our main consultant on-site, we’re doing a punch list as we build it,” he said.
The garage was designed by BSSW Architects (now Grace Hebert Curtis Architects after a 2024 merger) and is being built by Kaufman Lynn Construction. Goetz+Stropes Landscape Architects, Stantec Consulting, Desman and Velocity Engineering also are involved, and Southwest Construction Services and other project team members and city staff are conducting quality-assurance and quality control.
The CRA also approved a change to valet parking for Gulfshore Playhouse, 123 spaces on the first two floors, instead of the top floor, three hours before each theater show date. The change was required after Valet Pros LLC advised the theater that top-floor parking would cause delays, traffic congestion and safety issues.
“While the service will be targeted to performance times, it will be available to any member of the public, whether going to a restaurant or other event or facility in the area — or attending a production at the playhouse,” Gulfshore Playhouse’s attorney, Noel Davies told the CRA.
CRA member Berne Barton said the city needs to make sure the public understands it benefits the theater, which provided some land, but that it’s a public garage. “We need to make sure that this is done properly so that we don’t have an outcry from those who think that the public garage is not being used for the public purposes,” Barton said.
A temporary certificate of occupancy is expected by Feb. 7, but may occur earlier.
“So, let’s hope we can meet it or better it,” CRA Chair Ray Christman said. “And if we can, that will mean that the garage will be available to the Gulfshore Playhouse for the second half of their season.”
