SUB S CRIBE TODAY F O R L O C A L S, BY L O C A L S
naplespress.com
$2.00
M A R C H 7 - M A R C H 1 3 , 2025
3A | DINING CHANGES
SPRING FORWARD
3B | FOUR-STAR STAGES
regulations, increases permit fees
this weekend for daylight saving time
heavyweight productions for 2025-26 season
Naples alters its outdoor dining
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Three theater groups schedule some
Move your clocks ahead an hour
BIG CATS’ DILEMMA
More businesses coming to the Estates Q: Did the gas station at the corner of Everglades and Oil Well ever get approved? If it did, do you know what station is being built? Did the gas station at Oil Well and Hawthorn by the new Publix get final approval and, if it did, is it still a Circle K? Any more information about other tenants that might occupy the area by Hawthorn and Oil Well besides Publix, 5/3 bank and the apartments would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all your knowledge about what is being built in Collier County! – Scott Bohm, Golden Gate Estates A: New gas stations planned along Oil Well Road in Golden Gate Estates have not been formally proposed yet, but preliminary plans show that a couple of them are being considered for new development projects. In January, 7-Eleven purchased three residential lots on the northwest corner of Oil Well and Everglades Boulevard, Collier County property records show, but the Texas-based company has yet to file documents to rezone the property for commercial use or to propose a site development plan for a convenience store and gas pumps there. At one point, a conceptual plan showed that Circle K had planned a 5,200-square-foot store, gas pumps, a 4,490-square-foot, 125-foot tunnel car wash and a stormwater pond, but those plans were cancelled. While the property has been acquired by 7-Eleven, Circle K is looking to land about 1.5 miles west at an outparcel See ATEN KNOWS, Page 6A
0
51497
40346
1
A panther named Athena is seen through glass at the Naples Zoo. Athena was rescued from the wild after being abandoned by her mother and has been raised in captivity. Photo by Liz Gorman
Florida panthers face increasing peril from development By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
As the human population of Southwest Florida continues to grow, so do the perils that face the endangered Florida panther. After 2024, when 29 panthers were killed by vehicles, environmental organizations including the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are sounding alarms as several large-scale developments continue to make their way through federal and state
permitting processes that could eventually lead to more than 33,400 new homes — in areas of Lee and Collier counties that include prime habitat of the panther and other endangered species. The Conservancy estimates the projected cumulative growth from five pending developments and a mine — Bellmar, Rural Lands West and Immokalee Road Rural Village in Collier County, and Florida Farm Development Corkscrew Road, Kingston and the Troyer Bros. Mine in Lee County — would mean 80,845 residents in the proposed housing developments and more than 260,000 vehicle trips daily through areas where panthers are already in-
creasingly vulnerable. To date in 2025, two panthers have been killed by vehicles, which are the leading cause of death for the animals, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Experts estimate the current Florida panther population at 120 to 230 total.
Permitting process brings sense of urgency
Sierra Club, the Conservancy and the Center for See PANTHER, Page 4A
City of Naples to use county park for Naples Pier demolition haul By Aisling Swift
Collier County will allow Naples to use a portion of Bayview Park to haul Naples Pier debris to a barge twice weekly for up to six months before construction begins on the new $26.3 million pier. But demolition on the pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, won’t begin until after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval. Demo-
lition and construction are expected to take 1½ years. The interlocal agreement with the city, unanimously approved by the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 25, will enable city contractor Shoreline Foundation Inc. to use eight boat-trailer spaces. Dump trucks will use a portion of the docks twice weekly to unload debris removed from Naples Pier, which suffered catastrophic damage during the hurricane Sept. 28, 2022. The 4-acre park is located at 1575 Danford St., off Thomasson
Drive in East Naples. “We sometimes forget that Bayview Park was actually donated to the county by the city, so this is a partnership that goes back in time to the beginning of the park itself,” John Dunnuck, the county’s executive director of facilities and redevelopment, told commissioners. “… Their target obviously would be to get as much done before hurricane season as possible.” See PIER, Page 5A
FIRST FAIR EVERYWHERE.
The faces you trust. The local news you rely on.