Tim Aten Knows: Oakes Farms seeks to return market to Davis Boulevard

Q: Do you know if there’s still plans for Oakes to reopen in their original location on Davis? Any info you have is appreciated. – Greg Fleming, Naples 

A: Nearly three years after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge flooded and shuttered the longtime Oakes Farms Market, plans still are in the works to return a local grocery store in a grander scale to Davis Boulevard in East Naples. 

Although on-site progress is not apparent, much is happening behind the scenes for the redevelopment of both the northeast and northwest corners of Davis Boulevard and Brookside Drive. A pre-application was filed July 31 with Collier County Growth Management Community Development Department to rezone three contiguous parcels totaling 5.76 acres on that corner from C-3 commercial to a planned unit development. 

The properties proposed to be rezoned as a PUD include the 1.68-acre Oakes Farms parcel at 2205 Davis Blvd., the 1.17-acre former Salvation Army thrift store property next door at 2255 Davis Blvd. and the 2.91-acre Oakes Farms Market parking lot at 1420 Brookside Drive. RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture and Blueshore Engineering LLC are the firms on record as agents for the rezoning project applicant, which is not specifically named. 

The proposed PUD will include a larger grocery store and more, said Patty Kulak, a planning project manager at RVi’s Bonita Springs office. 

“It’s going to be a two-story grocery store with mixed-use commercial, retail, a parking garage, potential hotel/motel, residential uses and luxury wellness,” Kulak said. 

The increase in density for the proposed redevelopment project would include additional parking. 

“The current parking lot that’s there plus the Oakes Farms site, both of those will have a two-story parking garage,” Kulak said. 

Although the proposed project name is still to be determined, the project name on the pre-application is Oakes Farm Davis Rezone, county records show. Submitting an application for a PUD is the starting point of a multi-step process that includes a review of the specific development plans and rezoning proposal by the Collier County Planning Commission, ultimately to be decided by the Board of County Commissioners. 

While the current C-3 zoning for the Davis Boulevard properties permits regional commercial development, a PUD allows for a mix of different land uses to be combined in one development. These unique zoning districts allow for flexibility in land use and design, often incorporating residential and commercial spaces that may not fit within traditional zoning classifications. 

Since Oakes Farms Market was damaged and closed in 2022, neither a demolition permit nor specific development plans have been filed to raze and rebuild the store. However, interesting activity has been recorded for the business and its real estate. 

The adjacent lots with the former Oakes Farms Market and Salvation Army stores were both purchased in late 2024 in two separate acquisitions by Christopher J. Bower Living Trust, 1000 Admiralty Parade, Naples. The Port Royal entity purchased the Oakes Farms property in November for $7 million from Oakes Farms founder Francis A. “Alfie” Oakes III and his wife, Deanne D. Oakes; and the Salvation Army property in December for $6 million from the Salvation Army of Atlanta, county property records show.  

When reached by telephone this month, Naples resident Chris Bower was asked if Oakes Farms Market would reopen on his property on Davis. 

“I appreciate your outreach and the question but, unfortunately, I’m under a confidentiality agreement — but I would just personally say I hope so,” said Bower, who is trustee of the Christopher J. Bower Living Trust, and the founder and CEO of Pacific Corporate Group Holdings LLC and PCG Capital Partners LLC private equity firm.  

Terra Aqua LLC, an Alfie Oakes limited liability company that shares his home address in North Naples, owns the third lot on Brookside Drive that is part of the rezoning proposal. Oakes did not respond to requests this month via email, texts and telephone calls for a status update on the future of his former store in East Naples. 

Dan St. Martin, the general manager of Oakes Farms’ retail operations, said Oakes has plans to return the market to Davis Boulevard, but not immediately. 

“We are doing it — not exactly 100% sure, though,” St. Martin said. “I believe the last time I spoke with Alfie we’re still probably like two years away from that.”  

Oakes Farms Market remains listed on Oakes Farms’ website but the store’s hyperlink redirects and its phone number is no longer in service. Alfie Oakes filed articles of dissolution Aug. 13 with the Florida Department of State for his limited liability company Oakes Farms Market LLC because of “ceased business operations,” state records show. 

In October 2022, just days after the late September storm turned Davis Boulevard into a raging river, Oakes vowed to reopen and expand Oakes Farms Market, the small store he and his father, the late Frank Oakes, opened in 1994 as the original retail store in the Oakes Farms family of companies. Alfie Oakes talked about plans to rebuild the store with a mezzanine eating area, as he has at his Seed to Table store in North Naples.  

“Not as big as Seed to Table, but a smaller version of something like that might go well down there,” Oakes said.  

Oakes Farms Market and a stretch of Davis Boulevard appear poised for redevelopment in the shadow of the Metropolitan Naples mixed-use development that towers above the corner of Davis Boulevard and U.S. 41 East. When KOVA Commercial Group announced the sale of the Salvation Army thrift store on Davis late last year, a news release quotation by KOVA senior advisor Bryan Flores hints at what could transpire. 

“We are excited to see how this property will be transformed to contribute to the vibrant redevelopment of Davis Boulevard,” Flores said. “This sale is a testament to the dynamic opportunities within Naples’ commercial market, and we’re proud to play a part in shaping the future of this corridor.” 

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