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D E C . 6 - D E C . 1 2 , 2024
3A | CONDOS GOING UP
5A | PAWS FOR A CAUSE
3B | STAGED FOR HOLIDAYS
Encore get approval from Naples officials
spotlight at fundraising event; see Out & About
every kind of Christmas tale we could want
Condo communities The Avenue and
Southwest Florida holiday theater offers us
Golden PAWS assistant dogs enjoy the
AIR APPARENT?
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Q: At Gateway Shoppes at North Bay in North Naples at Wiggins Pass Road, there is a lot of construction going on. Most of the parking lot is closed. Do you know what’s going on? Thanks! — Mark Marowski, Bonita Springs A: Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples. The plaza, built in 2008 by Benderson Development, is seeing a major renovation as large inline spaces vacated by DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Norris Home Furnishings — as well as some smaller vacant retail units — are demolished to build a proposed 54,000-square-foot supermarket at 13585 Tamiami Trail N. Contrary to some incorrect media reports, Publix is not moving into the abandoned Lucky’s Market end space, but rather taking only the northernmost sliver of the defunct grocer’s space to punch an opening through the building and create a drive-thru lane for the new supermarket’s pharmacy. Asphalt has been removed in many spots within a large cordoned-off area of Gateway Shoppes’ parking lot between the Guitar Center store and the abandoned Lucky’s Market. Detour signs direct traffic around this major construction zone in the middle of the retail center. Expect about an 18-month construction project there.
Aircraft such as this all-electric Joby Aviation air taxi are expected to be seen taking to the skies in the coming years. Photo courtesy Joby Aviation
Southwest Florida airports look to adopt e-plane infrastructure By John Guerra
They resemble giant dragonflies, lift straight off the ground, fly 200 mph — and may soon be a common sight over Naples, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda and other Southwest Florida cities. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, manufactured by competing companies, are powered by lithium batteries or hybrid fuels. As strange as they may look, the aircraft — with wing spans of 40 feet and longer — are designed to be the workhorses of Florida’s emerging Advanced Air Mobility infrastructure (AAM). The AAM system now under active planning
in Florida consists of regional airports within the range of the aircraft, which Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue said will ferry passengers and goods throughout the state. Not looking forward to that 90-minute drive to Miami International Airport? An eVTOL air taxi can fly you and three other passengers from Naples Municipal Airport to Miami or other destinations not easily served by surface transportation or existing aviation modes. The aircraft could also deliver medical supplies or other light freight to storm-damaged areas. The Florida Department of Transportation in recent years performed several tabletop exercises with Florida airports on designing “vertiports” —
eVTOL landing areas and facilities — which would require recharging stations, hangars or tie-down areas and other features. Southwest Florida airports are also getting in line with the vertiport idea.
Naples Airport
The Naples Airport Authority is taking a serious look at whether Naples Airport (APF) on Aviation Drive will accommodate the futuristic aircraft. The FDOT, in fact, included Naples Airport in a vertiport compatibility study. To view it online, go to fdot.gov/aviation/fdot-advanced-air-mobility-airport-compatibility-considerations and click See AVIATION, Page 8A
See ATEN KNOWS, Page 9A
PCSC/BIG CORKSCREW ISLAND
TDC RECOMMENDS COLLIER COUNTY STUDY TOURISM BENEFIT OF PARKS 0
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By Aisling Swift
The Tourist Development Council is recommending that Collier County study whether Paradise Coast Sports Complex and Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park benefit tourism — a study whose results could allow tourist taxes to be used for their expansions. The TDC voted 5-2 on Nov. 19 to recommend that the Board of
County Commissioners pay Chicago-based Hunden Partners up to $103,800 for a study to determine their economic impact on tourism and the benefits of expanding them. TDC Vice Chair Clark Hill, Hilton Naples’ general manager, and TDC member Michael McComas, an Everglades City councilman, were opposed. TDC Chair Rick LoCastro, a county commissioner, said commissioners discussed whether they could avoid the hefty study ex-
pense because they already know the complex brings in tourists during events, but it’s required by law. “It’s part of the bureaucracy and red tape of the state statute, not that it won’t net us some positive information, but I don’t think any commissioner thought it was worth $100,000,” LoCastro said. “… It’s possible that it could be used for other things. If we see an opportunity to chase a grant, then all of a sudden the study becomes a
main part of that grant-ask.” State law requires a tourism-impact study before tourist-development tax (TDT) dollars can be used for capital construction and maintenance of tourist-related facilities. The taxes come from the county’s 5% bed tax, revenues from hotels, Airbnbs and other rentals of six months or less. The TDC’s recommendation will go to the Board of County CommissionSee STUDY, Page 7A
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Zach Maloch
Matt Devitt