Thanksgiving leftovers get a makeover: No recipe needed for this Vietnamese turkey salad from Le Colonial's executive chef Anthony Gargano.
The Design Review Board got its first peek at revised plans for the final piece of a highly anticipated redevelopment project in downtown Naples.
The board liked what it saw, but it asked for more changes aimed at making the last two buildings more functional, colorful and appealing - and more complementary to the rest of the expansive development off Fifth Avenue South.
The preliminary review on Friday involved two of the four three-story buildings in the project known as The Avenue, which will span nearly two city blocks on 4.3 acres.
The site sits east of Four Corners, where U.S. 41 turns east toward Miami. It's between the historic Tin City and the renowned Fifth Avenue shopping district and consists of vacant lots and empty, non-conforming buildings, damaged by Hurricane Ian.
During discussions, the design board's chairman Stephen Hruby, a long-time Naples resident, described The Avenue as probably one of the city's "most iconic developments" to come forward in decades, other than maybe the upscale Four Seasons resort and community rising off Gulf Shore Boulevard.
"If we don't get this right, shame on us," he said.
He saw the new look of the last two buildings, located on 1000 block, as a vast improvement from the original plans presented to the design board in early 2023, which included a lot more arches.
The arches are now only on the first floor, instead of all floors. In looking it over, Hruby said the design reminded him of an old fish market, like you'd find in Manhattan.
"It's refreshing," he said. "It's something you really don't find here in Southwest Florida."
Also, Hruby liked the fact that the design is different from yet still complementary to the one for the other two buildings planned on the 900 block, nearby.
"It's a cousin, they are not twins," he said.
Member Doug Haughey agreed, describing the design of the last two buildings as very elegant, with its varied elements, including brick accents.
"It is fresh. And I think very well done," he said.
Last month, the Design Review Board approved the final design for the first set of buildings, along with a 235-space public garage, after the entire project was reworked to meet city council concerns.
The two sets of buildings have different architects, but the same developer.
The original developer is no longer involved. JSB Capital Group, which provided the private equity for the multimillion-dollar project from the outset, bought out M Development's interest in it.
Andy Penev continues to lead the development. Instead of working for M Development, he's steering the project independently. All of the consultants remain the same, including the local architects MHK.
Fifth Avenue South Holdings, an affiliate of M Development, based in Colorado, sued the city in December, accusing city council of effectively killing its plans by imposing a "moratorium on administrative approvals for projects containing underground parking garages," like its own.
As part of a settlement, M Development agreed to eliminate underground parking, and to build a parking garage to support the commercial side of the project, allowing it to move ahead, with a new design.
Morris Adjmi Architects, based in New York City, is the designer for the buildings on the 1000 block. Ian Mills, the firm's executive director, presented the revised plans to the design board, with some of the finer details yet to be worked out.
He explained how retail will wrap the eight corners of the two buildings at the street, and how parking garages for residents will be enclosed in the buildings and out of view with entrances from both sides of an open via, or narrow passageway.
Parking for residents will be on the ground floor of each building, with elevators to take them upstairs to their homes.
Parking for the commercial uses in these buildings will be provided for in the public garage, a block over to the west.
Combined the two buildings will include about 44,600 square feet of commercial space facing Fifth Avenue South and 10th Street South. Tenants have yet to be identified.
There will be a total of 30 homes, sitting on the top floors, along with amenities, including fitness centers and pools in each building.
"We are trying to make every unit a corner unit, which we didn't quite get there, but almost," Mills said.
For the vias, or breezeways, the facades of the buildings are square, in part to break up the mass of them. The vias are not only meant to serve as entrances for resident parking, but as pedestrian passages and places of public interest.
Based on the plans presented, members of the design board expressed concerns about the safety, function and appearance of the vias. They felt the focus should be more on people, not cars, and on ensuring the passageways don't look like dark caves.
Member Chae duPont said she'd like to see more places to gather, whether in the vias or in the alley between the two buildings, or both.
She suggested there should be spots where people can chat, socialize and interact "without being required to buy a cup of coffee," like they can at Waterside or Mercato in North Naples, or on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, or Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.
The project, she said, should include furnishings to allow the public to people watch and to soak in the energy of the location.
The board added the enhancement of the public spaces as a condition of final design approval.
The board approved the preliminary design with more than a dozen conditions.
On top of adopting the list of conditions recommended by staff, members added a handful of their own, including asking for more lighting and landscaping to make the buildings more consistent with the character of Naples, and the rest the development to tie it all together.
Hruby said he'd like to see more light shining down on the project at night, giving it a moonlight glow and a softer look.
"My attitude is light comes from the sky, not from the ground," he said. "If it's coming from the ground, it's the devil's light."
The design board's final approval of the first two buildings and the public garage in October paved the way for the issuance of permits for construction to start. Construction is anticipated to start in the first quarter of next year.
The last two buildings still need site plan approval from city staff, and a final thumbs up from the design board.