Stock Development revises controversial plans for One Naples near Vanderbilt Beach

Laura Layden | Naples

Show Caption Hide Caption View the revised plans for the One Naples project Naples-based developer Stock Development has revised its plans for a mixed-used project dubbed One Naples.

Stock Development has refined its controversial plans for One Naples one block from Vanderbilt Beach.

The well-known Naples developer went back to the drawing board after hearing some opposition and neighborhood concerns when it shared its first version of the luxury mixed-use project with the surrounding community back in May 2017.

The original unveiling brought mixed reactions, from excitement to despair.

At the time, Stock hadn't submitted a formal application to Collier County. Now, the developer has — taking the first steps needed to start the clock on the review and approval process for a rezoning and growth plan amendment, which will both be needed before the mostly residential project can get built in North Naples.

The revisions to One Naples are all part of a "vision to do the property right," said Brian Stock, CEO of Stock Development. "We see this as a legacy project for this company."

The redevelopment project would transform the northeast corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and Gulf Shore Drive, replacing several older buildings, most of which are more than 30 years old.

The latest development plans include two high-rise condominium towers, instead of one. The towers won't be as tall as the one initially envisioned — and there won't be as many residences at the development.

Each tower will stretch 16 stories, over two floors of parking — giving them added height. They would have 75 condominiums a piece.

Why two towers, instead of one? The developer says it will allow for improved visibility, light and air movement between buildings, which will all benefit the surrounding neighborhood.

The high-rises will be a first for Stock Development, which has spread its wings in recent years as part of a broader plan to diversify its real estate operations.

The original plan for One Naples showed one 21-story tower, including three floors of parking underneath it, along with other residential units offered in five-story buildings, with a combined total of 300 residences.

With the changes, the total number of residences has been reduced to 240, including the five-story condominium homes overlooking Vanderbilt Lagoon.

The current site plan shows five residential buildings in all, three of which would have five floors of living over two levels of parking as originally proposed.

The revised project would still include up to 25,000 square feet of commercial development, as initially planned, to accommodate a real estate office, along with a new coffee shop and deli. There are no plans for a restaurant.

Stock Development filed its development application with the county in October.

The developer held dozens of meetings with homeowner groups to hear out the concerns of its neighbors and to answer questions about the project before bringing it back to life.

The biggest concerns raised by neighbors at those meetings? Height, density and the congestion the project might cause on roads and beaches, which the developer heard "loud and clear," Stock said.

That's why the count of residences has been reduced by 20%, he said, which should go a long way in lessening the extra traffic it will generate on local roads — or bring to nearby beaches.

Amenity rich

One Naples is designed to be a destination unto itself, so that residents can find many of the activities they desire on the property. Amenities will include resort-style pools with cabanas and retail shops, as well as a fitness center and social activities.

The development will also have a 75-slip marina on Vanderbilt Lagoon, with private boat slips. A small marina store and fueling stations will be open to the public.

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For residents who want to hit the sand, One Naples will offer a private shuttle to Wiggins Pass Beach, a 15-minute ride to the north. That too will serve to reduce the community's impact on roads and on beach parking, Stock said.

It's no secret beach parking can be in short supply, especially in peak season.

The proposed development should help traffic flow in the neighborhood by redirecting where cars can park and by readjusting and improving access and egress points, said Claudine Leger-Wetzel, a vice president of sales and marketing for Stock Development.

"Now there's cars everywhere and people park wherever they want ... Really it will correct some of that," she said.

Stock Development is committed to the project and wants to build something the company — and the community — can be proud of for years to come, Stock said.

"We're vested in this community," he said. "We're here."

The project, Stock said, should only boost neighborhood values, not hurt them.

Stock Development bought 3.55 acres of waterfront property for $19.7 million in July 2017 for the development and it has purchased more land since then, with 100% of it now under its control.

The project, sitting on nearly 6 acres, wouldn't be out of character for the neighborhood, Stock said.

Nearby buildings include the 13-story Ritz-Carlton sitting over parking, and the 21-story Trieste and 21-story Remington at Bay Colony.

Piecing together the land for One Naples involved complicated negotiations with multiple owners. It was an arduous years-long undertaking, which may be one of the reasons that no one else has seized on the opportunity to redevelop it, Stock said.

Rare opportunity

Stock sees it as one of the last and best remaining urban redevelopment opportunities in the Naples area, west of U.S. 41. The project involves nearly 50 parcels.

"We saw the potential of what it could be," Stock said.

The developer has already torn down some "not so desirable buildings" at the site, Stock said, including the old marina and apartments, improving its appearance. The site still has a mix of buildings.

Eventually, all of the existing buildings on the property would be razed to make way for the mixed-use project.

The Beach Box and Beach Store will not be part of One Naples, but they'll remain open until development begins.

These neighbors would not be affected and aren't part of the project: Barefoot Pelican, DaRuMa, Vanderbilt Palms, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty and Buzz's Lighthouse Restaurant & Inn.

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One Naples will be a heavily landscaped, gated community that will enhance the streetscape and create a "sense of place," where people will want to be and be seen, Stock said.

"All we're trying to do is be good neighbors," he said.

The development would be built in phases.

Stock Development — founded nearly 20 years ago — has always strived to "do the right thing," building a reputation as a quality home builder in premier communities that has helped it survive the ups and downs of the market, including the Great Recession, Leger-Wetzel said.

Home prices at One Naples have yet to be determined, but this much is clear: They'll be in the seven figures.

"It's going to be on the high end of the market," Stock said.

One Naples will offer a variety of floor plans and unit sizes to meet market demand. The developer expects to attract a mix of year-round and seasonal residents.

Owners would have rental restrictions.

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Long way to go

The review and decision process for One Naples is expected to take nine to 12 months. It will include a neighborhood meeting, where the details of the project will be formally presented and discussed, giving surrounding property owners an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback on the latest plans.

The required neighborhood meeting is expected to be held in March or April.

The review by county staff is expected to take many months — and the project will have to go before the Collier County Planning Commission, which will make a recommendation on whether the project should be approved and sent to county commissioners, who will make the final decision.

If all goes as planned and the project gets a green light, Stock Development will begin community improvements and project engineering immediately.

The developer expects to see strong demand for its tower residences, with similar projects such has Kalea Bay, a much larger community that will have five luxury high-rises at completion, seeing such strong sales.

"There's very strong sales and the market is good right now," Stock said.

"There has been strong demand in premium locations," Leger-Wetzel said. "We continue to see that. If you want new, there's only so much to go around."

To accommodate the design of One Naples, Stock Development wants to change the property's commercial-only zoning to mixed-used planned development, or MPUD, allowing for a more compact, walkable housing and retail development.

The property's current C-3 zoning allows for much more intense development, far beyond what's on the site, comparable to local shopping and dining meccas such as Mercato, Venetian Village or Coconut Point, but on a smaller scale.

The existing zoning allows for a variety of uses including gas stations, bars, drugstores and movie theaters, as well as shopping centers. Such uses, the developer argues, could generate twice the traffic on Vanderbilt Beach Road as One Naples, which promises to be a high quality development designed "in concert with the unique elegance of Naples" and the surrounding communities.

The developer seeks several exceptions to the county's land development code, requesting deviations from architectural and landscaping standards, as well as parking and sidewalk requirements.

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Stock Development says the deviations are needed to create the best project and make it compatible with the neighborhood. The One Naples project has a variety of unique site constraints that aren't addressed by the county's land development code, according to the developer.

In an email, Mark Strain, the county's planning commission chairman and hearing examiner, said he expects traffic to be one of the most carefully reviewed issues.

A traffic impact statement Stock Development filed with the county shows the surrounding roadways will continue to operate at the required service levels at project build-out in 2025, with a capacity surplus at this time.

The project would have several access points and Southbay Drive will remain open to the public.

As with most projects of this magnitude, Strain suspects there will be multiple submittals for it, with revisions to address any concerns or deficiencies in the first application.

"I only saw renderings and meeting notes of the first plan — hard to make a comparison other than that the first plan had more units requested than this recent submittal," Strain said.

Although One Naples would sit in his district, Collier County Commissioner Andy Solis said he's not yet reviewed the development application.

"It has always been my practice not to comment on an application until after the staff has reviewed it, the neighborhood information meeting has occurred, and the Planning Commission has vetted the application in a public hearing," he said in an email.

"Many times, especially on large rezones, significant changes are made during that process. I want to see what it is that the commission will be asked to consider before making comments," Solis said.

The developer, he said, will have significant issues to address, from traffic to density to building heights.

"I will be watching the process closely," Solis said.

With word starting to trickle out about the new plans for One Naples, some are cheering the revisions, while others don't think they're enough to alleviate neighborhood concerns about the intensity of the project and its potential impacts.

Sebastian Paguni and his wife Leslie Garlock, part of The William Raveis South Bay Realty team, who have been offered a prominent location at the One Naples development inside one of its high-rise towers, are thrilled with the revisions.

"We actually think that the new plans are absolutely fantastic," Paguni said. "The way that they reduced some of the density, the way that they reduced the heights, I think it will make everyone around the neighborhood feel a lot better."

He expects the project to be "absolutely gorgeous," he said, based on Stock's other high-end developments around town, including its many neighborhoods within Lely Resort, the expansive community where the company got its start back in 2001.

"That's what's good about Stock, they are more conscientious of what their brand is about, and their brand is about luxury and making sure people like what they do," he said.

Not everyone agrees. There's still some opposition.

Not excited

Buzz Victor, a North Naples resident and commercial developer, said what he's seen of the new plans submitted to the county doesn't alleviate his concerns about the project's intensity.

"I'm not very excited about it," he said.

Based on the size of the site and the number of homes proposed, it would still be developed at more than 40 units an acre, Victor pointed out.

"It continues to be a fairly intense development, with buildings that are somewhat out of scale I think for the site ... I don't think it's in the spirit of the neighborhood, particularly," he said.

Victor also doesn't think he's the only one in the neighborhood who will feel this way.

"My suspicion is that he's going to find a continued amount of concern in the community, but we'll see," he said, referring to Brian Stock.

The developer, he said, has a long way to go to gain his support.

"I'm somewhat troubled by the fact that his setback requirements are as little as 10 feet, which is going to make walking down the north side of Vanderbilt Beach Road feel like you've got a canyon on your right," Victor said. "You are going to be looking 30 feet up the side of a building, which I don't find particularly appealing."

Sunset timelapse at Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, Florida Composited with 405 photographs that shot in a ten-second interval, the video captures the sunset view of Vanderbilt Beach in Naples.

Victor would rather see a mini-Mercato or Venetian Village built at the site than what Stock has proposed, he said.

"He's trying to put a Pelican Bay in a Vanderbilt Beach neighborhood and ignores the fact that it's on the entry to the public beach," Victor said. "Ignores the fact that there is too much traffic at that corner as it stands."

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