After suing the city of Naples, an Aspen, Colorado-based developer’s plans have been approved, paving the way for a luxury project of condos, boutique retail and restaurants that will serve as a gateway to downtown.
The Naples City Council unanimously approved a subdivision rezoning that changes the boundaries of the 900 block of Fifth Avenue South, 936 Fifth Avenue South and Sixth Avenue South. The parcel is approximately 2.5 acres of the 4.32-acre property owned by M Development as Fifth Avenue South Holdings. L.P. This approval formalizes the terms of the June 19 lawsuit settlement.
The agreement will reduce traffic, improve circulation, and keep alleys and rights-of-way open for public use and shady shopping walkways. Key conditions included canceling plans for underground parking and large retail stores such as Whole Foods Market and Restoration Hardware, and preserving existing alleys. Re-plating was required as part of the settlement.
“The purpose of this application before you today is to replace these long, rectangular lots with just three large parcels,” Clay Brooker, a land use attorney with Chaffey Passidomo, told the City Council. , noted that it can accommodate the conceptual site plan approved by the settlement. .
M Development agreed to reduce the commercial portion of the mixed-use project from 126,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet. Fifty luxury condominiums will be built on two floors above shops and restaurants, with a garage on the ground floor for residential and commercial use. There will also be a fitness center and pool. Retail stores and restaurants have not yet been announced.
Additionally, at the request of Naples Airport Authority Executive Director Chris Rozansky, the developer agreed to disclose the proximity of Naples Airport and associated noise in all documentation to all potential unit buyers prior to purchase. .
The project, designed by MHK Architecture & Planning and New York City-based Morris Adjmi Architects, will replace the currently vacant St. George and the Dragon restaurant site at 936 Fifth Ave. S. and 1010 1050, 1074 Fifth Ave. S.). ; 590 11th St. S. 975 and 1041 Sixth Ave. S. The sites are near the Four Corners intersection of US 41 and Fifth Avenue South.
In December 2023, M Development sued the city, three months after the City Council voted to cancel the underground parking plan due to post-Hurricane Ian flooding concerns. M Development branded this an illegal moratorium and prevented administrative staff from approving any pending plans.
The city of Naples began exploring ways to delay or cancel the project in March 2023 by enacting a new ordinance pre-empted by Senate Bill 250, according to the lawsuit. The ordinance was enacted on June 28, 2023, and was intended to expedite redevelopment work in Hurricane Ian. Prohibits municipalities from imposing stricter land development standards until October 2026.
The settlement means the entire project does not require further council approval. Preliminary plans were approved by the Design Review Board on Aug. 28 and will return to the DRB for final review this fall.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Teresa Heitman suggested another moratorium on development, noting the city’s failure to comply with state law requiring the adoption of an annual concurrency management report. Concurrency requires that the public facilities and services needed to support a development, such as roads and utilities, be available “simultaneously” with the impacts of that development.
But Heitman was shot and killed by City Council members and City Attorney Matt McConnell, among others, who pointed out that he couldn’t vote because it wasn’t on the agenda. McConnell, who was hired this year, found the city had been out of compliance for about a decade. He, the city manager and staff will complete a concurrency management report and submit it to the City Council in February.
