Tim Aten Knows: Fifth Ave. restaurant projects at standstill

Q: Any information on what’s going on with the two-story building on Fifth Avenue South (near Park Street) that has been completely gutted in summer 2025 and is now seemingly at a standstill? – Chris Wowk, Naples

A: Demolition plans were approved last year for the interior of at least three adjacent commercial units that included the former L’Olivo and Roma Italian restaurants in a building owned by M Development, on the north side of Fifth Avenue South immediately west of Inn on Fifth. Proposed plans to build a new upscale Mediterranean restaurant, an adjoining lounge and a sushi restaurant on the ground floor of the building hit a snag with the city of Naples.

The renovation project was supposed to have started construction last December by Aspen-based M Development, doing business as NECO 649-663 5th Avenue South LLC. The contractor already exercised permits for an early demolition of the interior, but then the project faced governmental delays for its final building permit, leaving the gutted space in limbo for more than a year.

“It looks like war in the building. If you look at the building, it doesn’t look so good for Fifth Avenue,” said Feibi Gouda, the prolific local restaurateur who has put more than two years of planning — with her husband, Raafat Bishai, and her brothers, Gerges Eskandr and George Salama — into renovating those commercial units.

Gouda and her family are planning to raise the bar with the launch of Riva Mediterranean Restaurant & Lounge at 651 Fifth Ave. S., where they shuttered their L’Olivo restaurant last year ahead of the building’s interior demolition. Next to their new restaurant and lounge they plan Zanu Sushi Bar in the former location of Roma pizzeria.

What began as a simple remodeling project — or so Gouda thought — became much more than that when the City of Naples considered it a new construction project, she said. Because the project involves substantial redevelopment, city staff treated the 60-year-old building as a new building, so everything had to meet the latest building code.

The city challenged the project’s structural engineer on the analysis of dry floodproofing, the building’s ability to withstand lateral pressure of floodwater and buoyancy forces. The developer had to hire a geologist and do soil borings to resolve the city’s geological questions and FEMA requirements for structures below base flood elevation.

The application for a building permit was returned multiple times with comments from the city. As part of a stormwater review by the city’s building department, the city sent a corrections notice with deficiencies via a letter dated May 7 to the building owner and contractor Levisse Management LLC of Miami. The city cited this information:

“Under Ordinance 2021-14654, remodeling or redevelopment is any construction activity on a site where the aggregate of actions or cost to reconstruct, modify, alter or improve the property, whether in one phase or in multiple phases, are anticipated to do any of the following: (1) increase the market value of the structure, as defined in section 16-144, more than 50% of its current market value; (2) replaces the existing building or reconstructs more than 50% of the area under roof; (3) raises more than 50% of the existing finished floor; (4) modifies the existing site grading sufficiently warrant concern that the new activities could adversely impact downstream of adjacent property; (5) modifies the existing site resulting in an increase in stormwater runoff; or (6) increases the impervious area on the site by greater than 250 square feet. Any of the activities listed above, will require a Stormwater Management Plan. Site plan mentions restaurant spaces 1 and 2 will be filed under separate permit. Provide total square footage to be reconstructed over both permits for 50% determination.”

After a prolonged standstill, Gouda finally foresees some movement. She hopes to receive the construction permit by the end of October.

“The last thing they told me, it’s going to be within a month to get the permit,” she said. “When I get the permit, I’m going to do as much as I can because everything is ready. For the restaurant, everything has been approved. All the permits for the restaurants have been approved. What has put us behind is the building. It’s not because of the restaurant.”

Once the permit is in hand, Gouda estimates six to eight months before the new restaurants open there. So, expect a post-season launch in 2027.

“We’re losing the second season,” said Gouda, who had initially planned for those hospitality spaces to miss only one season. She, her family and General Manager Massimiliano Tonni had intended to open in early 2026.

Gouda and her husband have been restaurateurs in the Naples area for 25 years. Their first venture was Falafel Grill, which had locations in Naples and North Naples, and they formerly operated Opa and Grouper Grille, as well as a cigar bar on Fifth Avenue South. They operated L’Olivo for more than six years in a space where they previously owned South Ave Restaurant and Crispy Seafood & Wine Bar.

The city’s Design Review Board still must approve façade modifications planned for the Fifth Avenue building, but interior work can begin before then. The design review is expected to be scheduled soon by Architects Unlimited.

Tenants for the second floor of the building have not been announced yet.

The Tim Aten Knows weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at Tim.Aten@NaplesPress.com.