James Whitaker, president of the River Park East homeowners association, has told City Council it’s been promising to help his neighborhood for decades, but never made it a priority.
After homes flooded for decades, one of Naples’ historically Black neighborhoods will become a city priority, with more than $38.2 million targeted for streets, stormwater and other improvements.
Naples City Council on Sept. 16 ranked Pape-Dawson Consulting Engineers the top bidder and approved paying it $2,031,448 as a professional services consultant overseeing street, stormwater and utility design, permitting and bidding in River Park East. The firm edged out Apex Companies, which has a Miami Lakes office.
The Naples Community Redevelopment Agency and Council have set aside $36.2 million for the project in 2027-28, which will upgrade all stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, install at least one pump station and raise roads in River Park East. The majority will come from CRA funds, while $14 million is being allotted from the city’s water and sewer fund.
Council, sitting as the CRA, agreed in January to prioritize River Park East after years of complaints from residents of the neighborhood, which is located along the western side of the Gordon River.
Naples City Council meets in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 735 Eighth St. S. Council on Sept. 16 selected Pape-Dawson Consulting Engineers to oversee design, permitting and bidding for major infrastructure improvements in River Park East.
The neighborhood was established in 1968 as a segregated community for poor Black working families and has diversified over the decades. Although the CRA was established in 1994 to help blighted communities and struggling areas, residents say the neighborhood still hasn’t received an equitable investment.
Rather than using general funds, the CRA uses tax-increment financing, which captures increased property-tax revenue generated by rising property values and new development and reinvests it in the district to fund infrastructure or attract businesses. The CRA receives revenue from the city and county based on increases over the 1993 base property-tax value.
In a memo to Council, Assistant City Manager George Yilmaz noted that its consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates, has assessed the neighborhood’s infrastructure needs and improvements, including pump stations to handle peak flow within 72 hours of a 25-year storm. Target areas will be:
Fifth Avenue North, from Goodlette-Frank Road east to the end.
13th Street North, from Fifth Avenue North to the end.
14th Street North, from Fifth Avenue North to the end.
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