Q: I see land has been cleared just west of 951 on the south side of Vanderbilt Beach Road. What is going in there? – Martha McKee, Naples
A: The clearing of trees on four residential properties on Seventh Avenue Northwest recently began for a Collier County public charter school on the south side of Vanderbilt Beach Road west of Collier Boulevard.
The new site for Mason Classical Academy is about 11 miles north of the MCA South Campus that the charter school leases for kindergarten through sixth grade at 3073 Horseshoe Drive S. in Naples; and about 6 miles away from the MCA North Campus it owns for grades 7-12 on the former Hodges University campus at 2647 Professional Circle in North Naples. When the new school building is completed next year, MCA plans to relocate its South Campus to the new 17-acre site off Vanderbilt Beach Road.
The project’s site development plan proposes a 1,500-student school for kindergarten through eighth grade. The proposed two-story school will have 109,282 square feet of gross floor area. The 30-foot-tall school will have 55,125 square feet on its first floor and 54,157 square feet on its second floor, plans show.
MCA purchased the contiguous residential properties for its new campus in four transactions last August totaling more than $6 million, property records show. The parcels are in an “E” or Estates zoning district, where the Collier County land development code allows educational facilities, subject to review and approval through a conditional use process.
Although site demolition was approved, the construction permit is still under review. Vertical construction will begin as soon as the permit is in hand for the school building, which is targeted for completion near the end of March — in time to be ready for the 2026-27 academic year, said Ben Ezzard, director of construction for general contractor Southcrest Management, a family-owned company in Kissimmee that has built numerous charter schools.
The new MCA school is proposed to be built on the north-central part of the property with a three-lane, one-way drive off Vanderbilt Beach Road tracing the perimeter of the acreage. A large on-site parking lot is planned south of the school, which will provide more than 150 parking spaces. Two outdoor basketball courts are planned in the center of the property and a soccer field will be located west of the courts, plans show.
Meanwhile, vertical construction began last fall on a one-story, 24,700-square-foot building with a gymnasium and additional classrooms at the MCA North Campus near Immokalee Road and Interstate 75. The freestanding addition is targeted to be ready for the upcoming school year, Ezzard said.
Plans show a full gym with bleachers, a half-court gym, a fitness/weight room, male and female locker rooms, a band lab, four classrooms, restrooms, a lobby, concessions area and office and storage spaces on property the charter school purchased for $2.25 million in February 2022. The property is directly across from the main entrance to the North Campus building that MCA acquired in June 2021 for $10.5 million.
Mason Classical Academy is a tuition-free school chartered by the Collier County School Board. Operating in Collier since August 2014, MCA initially focused on kindergarten through sixth grade before offering middle and high school grades starting in the 2016-17 academic year.
MCA founder Kelly Mason, chair of the Collier County School Board, previously was president of MCA before she resigned her charter school role in late March. Executive Director David Hull, who oversees MCA’s day-to-day operations, could not be reached for comment.
New retail center
Q: Can you see what’s going on and in at the corner of Airport-Pulling Road and Golden Gate Parkway? Thank you. – Dana Giles, Naples
A: Halstatt Real Estate Partners broke ground March 4 on Poinciana Plaza, which includes a 10,000-square-foot retail strip and a 2,500-square-foot freestanding Starbucks drive-thru.
Expected to be finished near the end of 2025 at the intersection of Airport-Pulling Road and Golden Gate Parkway in Naples, the project will include about 5,000 square feet dedicated to dining. This includes an end-cap restaurant space which features an expansive outdoor patio, said Jenna Rambaud, director of marketing and public relations for Halstatt.
“We are currently in discussions with several restaurant concepts. While no one besides Starbucks has signed, we’re enthusiastic about introducing new dining options to the area, which we believe has a strong and growing demand for quality food and beverage offerings,” Rambaud said.
The development of Poinciana Plaza marks the final phase for Poinciana Professional Park, a 102,000-square-foot office complex on the eastern edge of the city of Naples. The professional park is home to Halstatt, Barron Collier Companies and other businesses.
Halstatt is a family-owned investment firm headquartered in Naples. Its network of affiliated firms manage capital across a broad range of assets, including a number of family office and institutional investors.
Halstatt has deep ties to Collier County. Halstatt CEO Katie Sproul is the great-granddaughter of Barron G. Collier, the county’s founder and namesake. The Sproul family has been instrumental in development in Florida for more than 50 years.
“Breaking ground on this new retail center represents not only the culmination of our vision for Poinciana Park but also an exciting new chapter for the community,” Sproul said. “We have been intentional in designing this development to bring in a diverse mix of retail and dining options that will serve as both a convenience and a destination for those who live and work in the area.”
Halstatt anticipates welcoming tenants to Poinciana Plaza’s highly visible storefronts by the first quarter of 2026. Naples-based Build LLC is the general contractor of the retail center, designed by MHK Architecture.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.
