It’s that time of the year when every day brings something new to do in Naples. Charity balls, golf tournaments, theater, opera, music and food festivals – whew! Trying to keep your social calendar straight can be exhausting this month. Maybe you should take a day and relax at the beach! While you’re there, you can check in with one of our favorite sources online for all the new places to try - https://naples.floridaweekly.com/articles/tim-aten-knows/ and make plans for later.
The 2020 Naples Winter Wine Festival was one for the history books in more ways than one. The theme celebrated the 20th anniversary and the tremendous growth of the Festival and Charities in those years. And with an unofficial fundraising total exceeding $20 million, it is indeed a big cheer to all! Prior to the auction, they hoped to break a fundraising milestone of $200 million since the festival's conception, and they did. U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney won the first lot, “20 Years of Cheers!” It included 35 Magnums and two 750 milliliter bottles of wine from the festival at $230,000. And they raised an additional sum of more than $500,000 for the sixth annual Naples Winter Wine Festival Online Auction where bidding ran from Jan. 20 to Jan. 28. That amount is in addition to the $20 million raised during the wine festival live auction Jan. 25 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in North Naples.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection hosted a "monthly meetup" at the Naples Botanical Garden recently. Three presenters at the workshop discussed challenges the area faces in managing stormwater and potential solutions to remove nutrients – discussing options for diverting stormwater before it gets into the ecosystem (ditch and drain) or working on ways to pull nitrogen from stormwater before it is released. Controlling the water within the canals provides the opportunity for flood control, wetlands preservation and stormwater treatment and individual homeowners can be part of the solution too.
Do you know what a city tree is? If you live within the boundaries of the City of Naples, it behooves you to know. The city has a protected tree ordinance which means removing or even trimming trees on city rights-of-way without proper approvals and permits can be costly. The City of Naples send out notices to landscapers and tree trimming companies to keep them appraised of the rules, but as a homeowner you can be cited and fined. David Hoffman is a local businessman whose real estate company paid $65,000 in fines in 2018 for removing over a dozen protected cypress trees near its Naples Transportation and Tours office, and reached a settlement with the city when landscapers illegally trimmed the Yellow Tabebuia trees near their new property on 12th Avenue South. Under the city's protected tree ordinance, each tree that's removed or altered unlawfully is considered a separate offense. Contact the city’s Community Services Department for more information and applications.
It is with a heavy heart that we mark the passing of Lucky’s Market – newly expanding in our area, the major investment in the company by Kroger abruptly ended with changed plans and they pulled out of the Florida market entirely. The only remaining Lucky’s in the state will be in Melbourne in Brevard County. Kroger may be on the hook for the remaining terms of the leases, but some other companies are already looking at the newly available sites.
The printing operations at the Naples Daily News has now moved to Sarasota. The last run at the Immokalee Road press was on Sunday February 16, 2020. The presses in North Naples are used to print multiple newspapers, including The News-Press in Fort Myers, as well as several community publications — such as The Banner, Marco Eagle and Collier Citizen.
The Naples Daily News posted the top 10 real estate sales in both Lee and Collier County during 2019. It shows all sales from residential, to commercial to land sales. The number one sale in Collier County was a $63,284,700 purchase of several agricultural parcels in Immokalee by Gargiulo, Inc. While all of Lee County’s sales are commercial/land sales, and while the No. 2 spot in Collier's top 10 sales went to an apartment complex, Collier county does have something that Lee does not: Mammoth mansion sales. Due to this, three of the top 10 sales in Collier are single-family residential homes, while the Lee list is entirely made up of commercial sales. The three transactions cracking the top ten last year were: #6 - 1832 Galleon Drive purchased for $28 million; #9 – 325 Gulf Shore Blvd N purchased for $25.5 million and #10 2440 Gordon Drive for $22.5 million. And for 2020, it is off to a good start with the sale at 575 Admiralty Parade for $16.5 million and the property under contract at 1300 Galleon Drive for $15,950,000. Marco Island is getting in on the act with its own record setting sale for $10.5 million for a home in Hideaway Beach with 470 feet on Collier Bay.
A new public art project will be welcoming travelers to Naples - a beautiful abstract 15-foot tall Carrara marble sculpture by Hungarian artist Marton Varo called “La Donna” graces the space near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Collier Boulevard. Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala (no relation to the name of the sculpture, according to the artist) has been working to bring public art outside of the city limits and into Collier County. The artist has done work at Naples Community Hospital and above the entrance to the Ave Maria church, so you may be familiar with his work. The name of the piece means The Woman in Italian and bringing in the symbolism of woman in art – liberty, peace and justice – invoking those without carving an actual woman was the aim of the artist.
Did you know that the Naples Airport has an economic impact of $440 million annually, according to the state Department of Transportation? And the busiest day of the year, according to Executive Director Chris Rozansky? December 26th – I was surprised – I thought the Wine Fest Weekend would beat that day.
Marco Island City Council has approved an agreement to pay homeowners to dig holes in their own yards – for a good cause. The idea is to expand the habitat for the adorable Burrowing owls that make the island home. The city will offer $250 to dig a starter hole for the threatened species to make their own homes at the start of nesting season (February through July) - the catch is that the city will provide the money only if the burrows remain “potentially occupied” for at least one nesting season. There are, at present, 91 starter burrows on Marco. If you are interested, contact the Audubon of the Western Everglades for information on how to create your own optimal owl home. owlwatchmarco@gmail.com
One Naples, the Stock Development going in at the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and Gulfshore Drive close to the Ritz-Carlton in North Naples, is hosting voluntary show-and-tell events ahead of the required Neighborhood Information Meeting the developer must hold before the project can be considered by the county's planning commission and voted on by county commissioners. The mandatory meeting will likely happen in March. The designs have changed - now there will be 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'd have 75 condominiums a piece. The developer says having two towers, rather than one, will allow for improved visibility, light and air movement between buildings, which will all benefit the neighborhood – but that doesn’t mean that everyone is on board with the new designs. Height and density concerns are still on the minds of many in the area and they are voicing their opinions at the meetings.
That’s all from your gal at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty!
Sincerely,
Ruth
