Plans are underway for a new Sunshine Ace Hardware targeted to open in early 2025 in part of the former home of Stein Mart in The Marketplace at Pelican Bay in North Naples.
Sunshine Ace Hardware’s new 20,190-square-foot store will co-anchor the retail center with Publix supermarket at 8811 Tamiami Trail N., near the southwest corner of U.S. 41 and Vanderbilt Beach Road. Other businesses in the center include CVS pharmacy, Wilford & Lee Home Accents, New Balance, GNC, Bank United, Fifth Third Bank and numerous restaurants, including Deep Lagoon Seafood, Namba Ramen & Sushi, Panevino Ristorante, Angelo’s Southern Grill and Grain de Café.
“Our team has been eyeing this region of North Naples for years, and we are excited about bringing a new store closer to our loyal commercial and residential customers in this area,” said Sunshine Ace Hardware President Michael Wynn. “The response to our newest store at Founders Square has been incredible, and we envision a similar reaction once the Pelican Bay store is officially open.”
A Naples family-owned company for more than 65 years, Sunshine Ace Hardware opened a store last year to anchor The Plaza at Founders Square retail strip near the southeast corner of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard. In August, it has plans to open Ave Maria’s first hardware store in another new retail strip under construction in the community’s commerce park.
Once stores are completed in Ave Maria and Pelican Bay, Sunshine Ace Hardware will have 12 locations in Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Pinellas counties, as well as Sunshine Commercial Paint & More in Collier County, two Crowder Bros. Ace Hardware stores in Manatee County and two Crowder’s Gifts & Gadgets stores in Manatee County.
But Sunshine Ace Hardware isn’t stopping there. It’s also building other stores targeted to open in 2025 in Babcock Ranch and in Golden Gate Estates to anchor Winchester Center on the corner of Immokalee Road and Orangetree Boulevard.
“Although Southwest Florida has certainly changed since the first Sunshine Ace Hardware opened in 1958, our stores are still a place where our community can expect a world-class customer experience and friendly associates who operate under a set of core values that will never change,” Wynn said. “That has been our legacy over the years, and it will continue to define Sunshine Ace Hardware for decades to come.”
The new hardware store in Pelican Bay will have departments for commercial paint, grilling and fishing, as well as a wide selection of tools, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, plumbing fixtures, propane, gifts and supplies for do-it-yourselfers. The store will also feature Sunshine Ace Hardware’s signature Helpful Hub, a customer service desk that provides resources such as screen repair, key cutting, color matching, grill assembly and home delivery. Employment opportunities and an exact opening date will be announced in the coming months.
While Sunshine Ace Hardware will take the majority of the space Stein Mart vacated a few years ago after operating for nearly 25 years at The Marketplace at Pelican Bay, a sizeable adjacent retail space remains.
“We do not have a deal for the remaining 15,800 square feet yet, but we’re negotiating and we’re looking for the retail companion for them,” said Andrew J. Saluan of AJS Realty Group. “Ace, I think, is just a perfect fit there.”
The latest space for the hardware store became available in 2020 when Stein Mart Inc. filed relief under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code and permanently closed its stores, including two in Collier County and two in Lee County. Sunshine Ace and another future tenant coming to the Pelican Bay store means that all four area stores vacated by Stein Mart will be backfilled. The former Stein Mart locations became Bealls and Home Centric at Tamiami Crossing in East Naples, Big Lots in Prado at Spring Creek in Bonita Springs, and Burlington and Popshelf are coming to Cypress Trace in south Fort Myers.
