Q: What else is going to be built besides residential units at NC Square on Immokalee Road? I heard stores and restaurants. — Phyllis L., Golden Gate Estates
A: The commercial part of NC Square proposes a retail/office strip with four restaurants and 14 more units for other businesses on more than 7 acres of undeveloped land on the southwest corner of Immokalee Road and Catawba Street, about 1.5 miles west of Wilson Boulevard.
The NC Square mixed-use planned unit development includes a residential phase planned on a second wooded 17.33-acre parcel immediately to the west of the commercial tract. GL Homes’ Valencia Trails gated community abuts the property’s western and southern edges, while the Twin Eagles golf community is directly across Immokalee Road from the future NC Square.
The commercial portion of the development would be built first, followed by a second phase of residential units, county documents show. The developer of NC Square, formerly known as Immokalee Square, recently proposed reducing the commercial square footage from 44,400 to 36,500 square feet by forgoing a day care center, while increasing the residential density from the approved 129 townhomes to 205 apartments. After public discussion at its April 8 meeting, the Board of Collier County Commissioners postponed its decision on the growth management plan amendment request until its May 13 meeting.
The commercial area proposed for NC Square consists of two 16,674-square-foot, one-story buildings separated by a covered outdoor seating area in the center, site development plans show. The narrow retail center will be divided into 22 units of about 1,500 square feet each with four restaurants proposed to take basically eight of those units.
The dining spots will include a fast-food restaurant with 22 seats and a drive-thru window, and three high-turnover, sit-down restaurants with a total of 496 seats, according to the traffic impact statement prepared Feb. 5 by Naples-based Trebilcock Consulting Solutions for J.R. Evans Engineering, the project’s engineer.
Restaurants are planned on the ends of both buildings. The 1,507-square-foot drive-thru will be the easternmost unit; a 3,084-square-foot restaurant will be on the western end; and 4,570-square-foot and 3,084-square-foot restaurants will be on either side of the central outdoor patio, according to an NC Square pre-construction marketing brochure by Trinity Commercial Group, the Estero-based leasing agent for the neighborhood center.
Although 14 other commercial units remain available to lease, some of the units may be combined by businesses to create larger spaces. A construction timeline and the names of specific restaurants or businesses proposed for the units are not available yet.
The landowner and developer of NC Square is HAA Capital LLC, registered to Antonio B. Brown and Henry Ferszt with the same North Naples address as Nian Custom Homes. HAA Capital acquired the Immokalee Road real estate for $8.2 million in May 2022.
The future development proposes a right-in/right-out connection on Immokalee Road and a full-movement entrance off Catawba Street.
Restaurant construction
Q: Any updates on Connors Steak and Seafood restaurant coming to 41 and Immokalee location? – Jim Wynn, North Naples
A: You may have noticed that a fence was recently erected around the former outparcel spot of Dollar Tree and (earlier) Walgreens at Granada Shoppes on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and Immokalee Road in North Naples. Collier County issued a commercial building permit in February for renovation work at the site of the future Connors Steak & Seafood. Work has begun to transform the former retail store into a restaurant by the end of this year.
“We are underway and starting demo on the project,” said Steve Marr of Connor Concepts, which owns and operates The Chop House and Connors brands. “We are targeting turnover in Collier County in the fourth quarter of 2025. With holidays, hurricanes and unexpected construction issues, we may push into early 2026.”
Connors, which specializes in aged steaks and fresh seafood, has had a regional restaurant since 2012 just outside Gulf Coast Town Center in south Fort Myers. The small chain has only seven other locations, including Florida restaurants in Sarasota and Tallahassee. Other locations are in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, including its inaugural location in Knoxville.
Connors’ 9,000-square-foot restaurant on about a half-acre at 950 Immokalee Road will have more than 250 seats, including 46 on a patio and 23 at its full bar, architectural plans show.
The future restaurant space had been a Dollar Tree store since 2017 and formerly was a Walgreens pharmacy until mid-2015. Last year, Dollar Tree relocated to a slightly smaller vacant inline space in Granada Shoppes that previously was Tuesday Morning and Linens ‘N Things.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com
