SUB S CRIBE TODAY F O R L O C A L S, BY L O C A L S
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S E P T. 2 7 - O C T. 3 , 2024
3A | TENT SHOT DOWN
3B | LIME IS KEY
10B | SOARING 'D'
Port Royal Club while construction continues
local stores and restaurants
High football teams: The defense shines
Naples City Council denies tent dining at
One thing never changes with Naples
Key lime pies get a delicious spin from
T H E AT E R
CURTAIN UP!
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Naples bookstore reopening delayed until 2025 Q: Do you have the opening date for the relocated Barnes & Noble store in Naples? Before the original store closed, they were predicting the new store would open in September. Thanks. —Adam Christopher, Naples Q: What’s going in the vacant Barnes & Noble site at Waterside? —Kathy Pope, Naples A: When relocation of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Naples was initially reported, the new store in Park Shore Plaza was expected to open a week after the old one closed in Waterside Shops. Then, just before the Waterside location closed July 23, the bookstore announced its reopening date in Park Shore would be in early September. Unforeseen issues have delayed the opening until early next year, said Janine Flanigan, senior director of store planning and design for the Barnes & Noble chain. “Unfortunately, we’ve had some delays due to some roof issues. The new target opening date is Jan. 29, 2025,” Flanigan said. “With some of the weather conditions, we experienced some severe roof leaks. Getting those addressed has set us back a bit and, of course, we want to be sure they are addressed completely before bringing books into the building.” Brixmor, the New York-based property group that owns Park See ATEN KNOWS, Page 9A
Gulfshore Playhouse CEO and Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury on a balcony in the newly built location of the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples. Coury helped raise more than $70 million for construction of the 40,000-square-foot local theater in Naples Design District. Photo by Liz Gorman
New Gulfshore Playhouse theater a lightyear leap in space, potential By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
Kristen Coury positioned herself on the balcony that rides the stone wave coursing around the new Gulfshore Playhouse, a cruise liner of a building that seems built to sail Naples’ coronary artery of Fifth Avenue South. That seagoing theme is no accident. The front doors of the new $72 million structure— full title, Gulfshore Playhouse Baker Theatre and Education Center—are within walking distance of the Gulf of Mexico. If Coury, who was up there for a photo,
ery Brilliant Thing and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill into its flexible 50-by-50-foot Struthers Studio theater. Larger-than-life musicals, including Sweet Charity, and stage-consuming farces, such as Noises Off , will be in the balconied Moran Mainstage theater.
looked ecstatic, it was because she has worked 20 years, 10 of them in direct fundraising and planning, for this scenario. Yet it’s what’s inside the 40,000-square-foot building hugging the perimeter of central Naples that excites her. The potential for new theater in Naples is why she is standing there, delighted to christen the building she has championed since well before the inaugural pledge from Patty and Jay Baker in May of 2015, a $10 million matching grant. Gulfshore Playhouse opens for previews of its inaugural musical, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, Oct. 27. Its repertoire is about to become vastly broader, with a two-stage season that tucks intimate plays such as the single-star Ev-
Increasing boundaries exponentially
Coury can now think about complex works on a stage with 50 set lines that can create endless scene changes. Can she set its perimeters a-twinkle for a work such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? Yes. See PLAYHOUSE, Page 7A
COLLIER COUNTY
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COUNTY APPROVES 2024-25 BUDGET; NO PROPERTY TAX INCREASE By Aisling Swift
Collier County commissioners rolled back taxes for a second year, approving a $2.97 billion 20242025 budget. But they didn’t decide to repay $29.6 million taken from Conservation Collier funds last year, despite repeated pleas at the meeting. (See accom-
panying story for details.) Commissioners Burt Saunders and Bill McDaniel Jr., who supported reimbursement, said it’s important to discuss it with the public in the future and to be transparent about their actions. “As important as it is to take care of our current taxpayers and to keep taxes as low as possible, it’s also important to keep in mind that in the longterm future, this type of a program is critically important, so I’m hoping that we do ultimately put
those funds back in Conservation Collier,” Saunders said just after the Sept. 19 vote. “I hope that we ultimately continue just putting that program in a position of importance going forward.” For a second year, commissioners adopted a 3.77 rollback rate, down from 4 mills this year— taxes that cover the general fund, Conservation Collier and Pollution Control—and approved an See BUDGET, Page 10A
MORNINGS Taylor Petras
Corey Lazar
Lindsey Sablan
Zach Maloch
Rachel Cox-Rosen