After suing the city of Naples, an Aspen, Colorado-based developer’s plans were approved, paving the way for a luxury project of condominiums, boutique retailers and restaurants that will serve as a gateway to downtown.
Naples City Council unanimously approved a subdivision replat that changes the boundaries of the 900 block of Fifth Avenue South, 936 Fifth Ave. S. and Sixth Avenue South, nearly 2.5 acres of a 4.32-acre site owned by M Development as 5th Avenue South Holdings LP. The approval formalizes terms of a June 19 lawsuit settlement.
That agreement reduces intensity, improves traffic circulation and alleyways and rights of way won’t be vacated — allowing them to be used for public utilities and a tree-shaded pedestrian shopping walkway. Key terms involved dropping plans for underground parking and big-box retailers, including Whole Foods Market and Restoration Hardware, and retaining existing alleys. The replat was required as part of the settlement.
“The purpose of this application before you today is to replace all of these slender rectangular lots with just three larger tracts,” land-use attorney Clay Brooker, of Cheffy Passidomo, told Council, noting that will accommodate conceptual site plans 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. Fifty luxury condominiums will sit on two floors atop shops and restaurants, with a ground-floor garage that will accommodate residents and commercial uses. There also will be a fitness center and pool. The retailers and restaurants haven’t yet been announced.
And at the request of Naples Airport Authority Executive Director Chris Rozansky, the developer also agreed to disclose the proximity of Naples Airport and associated noise to all potential unit buyers in all documents before purchase.
Designed by MHK Architecture & Planning and New York City-based Morris Adjmi Architects, the project will redevelop the now-vacant St. George and the Dragon restaurant site at 936 Fifth Ave. S. and 1010, 1050 and 1074 Fifth Ave. S.; 590 11th St. S.; 975 and 1041 Sixth Ave. S. The site is near Four Corners, where U.S. 41 meets Fifth Avenue South.
In December 2023, M Development sued the city, three months after Council voted to halt plans for underground garages due to flooding concerns after Hurricane Ian. M Development branded it an illegal moratorium that prevented administrative staff approvals, including their pending plans.
The lawsuit alleged Naples began searching for ways to delay or halt the project in March 2023 by establishing a new ordinance that was pre-empted by Senate Bill 250. It became law on June 28, 2023, and was intended to expedite Hurricane Ian redevelopment work by prohibiting municipalities from imposing stricter land development standards until October 2026.
The settlement means the overall project won’t need further Council approval. Preliminary plans were approved by the Design Review Board on Aug. 28 and return to the DRB for a final review this fall.
Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Teresa Heitmann suggested pausing development again, noting the city wasn’t following state laws requiring the city to adopt a yearly concurrency management report. Concurrency requires that public facilities and services needed to support development, such as roads and utilities, be available “concurrent” with the impacts of that development.
But Heitmann was shot down by council members and City Attorney Matt McConnell, who noted they couldn’t vote on it because it wasn’t on the agenda. McConnell, who was hired this year, found the city hasn’t been complying for about 10 years. He, the city manager and staff will complete the concurrency management report and present it to City Council in February.
