Naples Council approves dual-brand hotel near downtown

An eight-story dual-brand luxury hotel near downtown Naples was approved by City Council, leaving one more public hearing before construction can proceed on the long-vacant property. 

The project team, which said it is negotiating with Hilton and Marriott, has not identified which brands will occupy the 290 rooms at 870 Goodlette-Frank Road. The developer’s website had promoted the project as Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton, a pairing that debuted in Albany, New York, in 2018. Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale have other dual-branded Hilton properties, but this would be the first in Southwest Florida. 

Dual-brand hotels serve different demographics but share resources and expenses, including software, loyalty programs and amenities. Homewood Suites is an upscale extended-stay hotel with kitchens, while Tru is designed for budget-conscious travelers. 

Hilton last year announced it surpassed 500 open hotels in Florida, with 140 more in the pipeline, and plans to expand dual-brand properties nationwide and globally. There are eight Hilton-branded hotels countywide, including Inn of Naples, Tapestry Collection by Hilton; Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa; Home2 Suites; DoubleTree Suites; and Hampton Inn & Suites. Hilton officials did not respond to a request for comment. 

During the April 15 public hearing, council members said neighborhood concerns had been addressed, including stormwater, flooding, vegetative buffers, traffic, lighting and water quality. Engineer Andrew Rath said a 5-acre lake will treat stormwater before it reaches the Gordon River. 

Testimony showed the project team, including MHK Architecture, Architectural Land Design, Davidson Engineering and traffic engineers Trebilcock Consulting Solutions, met or exceeded local and state requirements. 

“We’ve gone to extensive lengths to show you something that as a matter of right could be built, but we wanted to make all of the neighborly concessions that we could accommodate and still make this a viable project,” petitioner’s attorney Francesca Passidomo, of Coleman Yovanovich Koester, told Council. 

Council voted 5-2, with Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Vice Mayor Ted Blankenship opposing. The city’s Planning Advisory Board unanimously recommended approval in March. 

“I’d like to applaud the petitioner for the transparency and the effort to engage with the community. It really turned into a collaborative effort,” Council member Berne Barton said before making the motion to approve. “I personally was a little bummed about not having the restaurant and the bar on the rooftop because I was looking forward to that, but I totally understand why we’re not doing them.” 

The project’s petitioner, AAM Naples Hotel Owner LLC, is managed by David R. Masse of Burlington, Massachusetts, founder and CEO of AAM 15 Management, which focuses on investments in hospitality, apartments and student housing. Masse did not respond to an email requesting comment about the dual brands. Earlier this year, AAM 15 Management announced it had purchased the existing 215-room Home2 Suites Brandon Tampa. Property records show it paid $32.2 million. 

The Goodlette-Frank Road property is owned by Commonage Corp., led by Andrew J. Saluan of Naples-based AJS Realty Group. 

The hotel project on 4.45 acres in The Commons Professional Park received unanimous preliminary approval from the city’s Design Review Board in January 2025. After concerns from neighbors in Lake Park, plans went through a second review after the rooftop restaurant and bar were removed. No one opposed the revised plan, and nearby resident Cormac Giblin wrote to Passidomo: “Many of us who will be most affected by the new hotel are very pleased with the design changes and the elimination of the rooftop restaurant/lounge. Thanks for listening to the community.” 

The site is just south of Fifth Third’s former “castle” bank property, which has been demolished and is now surrounded by construction fencing. 

Although neighbors initially raised concerns about height, the 94-foot hotel can exceed the city’s limit because it is within the 52-acre Commons, a former Collier County property annexed by Naples in 1989. The city accepted the county’s 1980 zoning conditions, part of a development of regional impact, which a Collier Circuit Court judge affirmed in 2001, ruling Commonage Corp. had vested rights to add buildings as originally approved. 

About 203,459 square feet of the 693,000 square feet of approved office and related uses have been built, leaving 15,000 square feet of retail space. The hotel would total 188,039 square feet, leaving about 301,502 square feet of remaining development potential. 

Plans show six floors of guest rooms above two stories of parking, with 355 spaces provided. Amenities include a fitness room, business center, pool and pool deck, bar, fire pits, outdoor courtyards, hospitality kitchen, meeting spaces and conference rooms. The eighth floor will include penthouse suites overlooking Naples and the Gulf. 

A linear park is planned, with many mature trees preserved and additional landscaping, including gumbo limbo, verawood, buttonwood, coconut palms and royal palms. 

The hotel will face Goodlette-Frank Road, with access from Seventh Avenue North at a signalized intersection. Guests will enter through The Commons roundabout to a rear access road leading to a porte cochere for parking and check-in. Council members raised concerns about the lack of a turning lane, but the project team said additional land was not available.