Tim Aten Knows
3 May 2024
Q: Do you know what is happening on that cleared lot on Triangle Boulevard and Collier Boulevard across from Staybridge Suites? It was supposed to be a bank, two fast-food restaurants and something else, I believe, from an old post you did. They cleared the land quickly and then nothing for months. —Cathy Fuertez, Naples A: Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months, but the three-building project was recently revived. Work will be restarting on the 4.5-acre development near the Collier Boulevard entrance into the Freedom Square retail center. The Lely commercial site is framed by Collier Boulevard to the east, Celeste Drive to the northwest and Triangle Boulevard to the southwest. A lease was signed in late April for a breakfast-brunch restaurant to complete the building under construction in the final phase of Restaurant Row, said Charles Ladd, president and principal of Barron Real Estate Inc., who is developing the dining-centric collection with Amera Companies of Coral Springs, Florida. Maple Street Biscuit Co. plans its first regional location with outdoor dining space in a multitenant building it will share with a TD Bank branch with drive-thru lanes. That’s the first building already under construction at 6917 Collier Blvd. The deal was delayed and construction came to a standstill because the Restaurant Row development project was being refinanced. Because of extended inactivity after the first building’s shell was built, nearby residents filed Collier County code enforcement complaints about what they reported as an eyesore with overgrown weeds and construction debris. Inquiring readers wondered if the developer had abandoned the project. “We didn’t walk away,” Ladd said. “We were in the middle of a refinancing that got delayed and finally is getting done.” Work will continue on the site’s first building and then start on two more structures, which also will likely feature restaurants, Ladd said. “We’ve talked to a number of people,” he said. “The area is ready. The growth down there is amazing.” A building previously earmarked for possible medical office space could be a larger sit-down restaurant. “We came very close to a deal with a restaurant. The lease was out for signature, and they backed away,” Ladd said. “They prefer to do another restaurant, but we’ll just have to wait and see what transpires.” Ladd believes more restaurants will be interested in the site once they can better visualize the development. “I’d like to get further along with construction so people can understand what’s happening there. Right now, it’s just a big mud pit,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of interest, so I think over the next couple of months we’ll end up striking a couple of deals.” Maple Street Biscuit Co. is targeted to open this fall, said Kate Knight, digital marketing manager for the breakfast and brunch chain that features a menu of scratch-made Southern comfort food with a twist. In addition to biscuits and gra...