Q: Is it true that Publix is being planned on Oil Well Road at the entrance to The Ranch at Orange Blossom? Rumors are that the piece of land in between the high school and Orange Blossom is going to be a Publix and apartments. Any information about that property would be helpful. Thank you. — Vito Minervini, Naples
A: Publix Supermarket and many other businesses are coming to what will be known as The Shoppes at Orange Blossom, planned for development on citrus grove acreage on the north side of Oil Well Road. Publix erected signs March 24 announcing that its new store is coming in 2025 to that vacant land between Palmetto Ridge High School’s football stadium and the Hawthorn Road entrance into The Ranch at Orange Blossom gated community.
The nearly 40-acre Orange Blossom Ranch master planned unit development features three distinct components: a 400-unit apartment complex on 16.86 acres; a grocery store with seven inline retail units and a medical office outparcel on 11.57 acres; and at least four commercial outparcels on a 9.25-acre strip in front of the apartments.
If proposed plans pan out, at least four restaurants could be part of that new commercial development along Oil Well. A restaurant with outdoor seating is expected on the eastern endcap of the inline spaces with the grocer. Commercial outparcels to the east of the grocery store tract will include a high-turnover restaurant and two drive-thru fast-food restaurants, as well as a bank with drive-thru lanes and a convenience store with a gas station, according to the traffic impact statement submitted in December to Collier County Growth Development for the commercial land uses in the Orange Blossom Ranch MPUD.
Illinois-based WMG Development, doing business as Shoppes at Orange Blossom LLC, purchased the commercial acreage for $5 million last August, county property records show. WMG is the associated developer of Heartland Dental, so expect the sole outparcel in front of the Publix strip to be affiliated with that Illinois-based dental support organization, which also has locations nearby at Randall Boulevard and Immokalee Road, as well as Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road.
Quarterra Multifamily, a subsidiary of national homebuilder Lennar Corp., will build the apartments at 1921 Hawthorn Road. A conceptual site plan filed with the county shows 15 three-story apartment buildings and associated parking around a central clubhouse with a swimming pool.
Last year’s amendment of the Orange Blossom Ranch MPUD by the county commission added the 400 multifamily residential units, which replaced half of the 200,000 square feet of commercial retail that had been approved for that space. Now, less than 100,000 square feet of retail is planned there.
“The proposed amended land uses for the Orange Blossom Ranch MPUD will not adversely impact the surrounding road network or cause any roadways to operate below their adopted levels of services,” reports Naples-based JMB Transportation Engineering Inc. in its traffic impact statement for the project. The new development will have two full access points off Oil Well Road. One is a right-in/right-out access while the other will have a traffic signal, the installation of which has been approved by Collier County Traffic Operations, the traffic impact statement notes.
An east-west interior road is planned to divide the Orange Blossom Ranch apartments and the commercial outparcels between the apartments and Oil Well Road. The development’s road network eventually will provide a second access route to the new Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, now only accessible past the county fairgrounds on 39th Avenue Northeast.
The new Publix will be built less than 3 miles away from the 6-year-old Publix store anchoring the Neighborhood Shoppes at Orangetree at Immokalee Road and Randall Boulevard. Although it may seem counterintuitive for Publix to build another grocery store near its own supermarket, it’s becoming more common for the company to move closer to existing locations to aggressively protect its territory and market share. Publix also did so locally on U.S. 41 East in East Naples when it opened a new store in December in Naples Towne Centre, only a mile or two away from its longtime locations at Shops at Hammock Cove and Kings Lake Square.
Publix at The Shoppes at Orange Blossom will be a 52,249-square-foot store with a pharmacy pickup window and covered outdoor seating near the building’s entrance, the most recent site plans show. The supermarket will have 49,189 square feet on its ground floor with a 3,060-square-foot mezzanine. Since the Publix at the Neighborhood Shoppes at Orangetree was built in 2016, the Lakeland-based supermarket chain has introduced a new store prototype that emphasizes customer service with features such as a mezzanine with seating and Wi-Fi, a freestanding island for the deli, more grab-and-go prepared foods and self-checkout lanes.
On the eastern edge of the new supermarket will be Publix Liquors, a 2,128-square-foot liquor store that will be one of seven units of inline retail totaling 9,394 square feet, plans show. A rendering also shows space for outdoor dining on the strip’s eastern end. A freestanding dental office outparcel fronting Oil Well will be 4,282 square feet.
The Shoppes at Orange Blossom’s facade will feature four paint colors, two metal finishes, a wood paneling material and two colors of brick, architectural plans show. The county requires 264 parking spaces for the supermarket strip’s total square footage, but 317 spaces will be provided, according to the site plan. Dry retention areas are planned on the northern and eastern edges of the property.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com
