Fort Myers-based FL Star Development has begun the permitting process for Hammock Park Center, a new retail shopping center that will be built near the northeast corner of Collier Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road in the Naples area. 

The 20,000-square-foot center will include a variety of retail shops with 5,000 square feet of restaurant space and additional outdoor dining. The new center will have about seven units for restaurants and retail tenants, but specific businesses have not been contracted yet, said Gary Hains, vice president of FL Star, developer of both Hammock Park Center and the adjacent Hammock Park Apartments, a multifamily residential community that will have 265 units in four two-story buildings.

“The center is designed to complement our new Hammock Park Apartments, providing residents within the community and the surrounding neighborhoods with the convenience of upscale retail shops nearby,” Hains said. “We see this part of Naples as an area of vitality and growth, a very desirable place to live with exceptional amenities.”

The completion date for the Hammock Park projects is expected in 2023, Hains said. “We’ll finish up the same time as the apartments, probably 18 months out,” he said.

“Residents of Hammock Park Apartments will be able to walk to the new Hammock Park Center for an afternoon of shopping or dining. The area provides the perfect Florida lifestyle,” said Hains, noting that nearby health care, educational and recreational facilities include Physicians Regional Medical Center, Florida SouthWestern State College and Serenity Park in unincorporated Collier County.

At the helm of FL Star, a conglomerate of real estate entities, are David E. Torres and Gary Hains, who offer more than 45 years of combined experience in the construction industry. MK Architecture has completed the architectural and engineering drawings for both the retail center and the apartment complex.