Vanderbilt Beach parking garage gets go-ahead

The $4.6 million garage will be built at the five-acre public beach park at the end of Vanderbilt Beach Road. On Tuesday, the Collier County Commission unanimously agreed to settle a lawsuit it had filed against WCI Communities Inc. that alleged the county didn't have the right to build the parking garage because of deed restrictions.

WCI gave the property to the county 20 years ago and claimed the county couldn't build the garage because of deed restrictions that were in place when the county got the land.

Collier County claimed the deed restrictions cited by WCI could not be enforced because the area had been highly developed in the past 20 years.

The area where the garage will be built is now surrounded by high-rises, including a three-story parking garage for employees of The Ritz-Carlton.

As part of the settlement the county will be able to build a two-story garage that has 350 parking spaces. At one point the county had wanted to make the parking garage four stories.

"Even if we won the lawsuit this issue could have been held up for years with WCI appealing the decision," said Public Services Administrator John Dunnuck. "We think this is a fair decision for everyone."

Officials with WCI have already agreed to settle the lawsuit, said Ken Plonski, a WCI spokesman.

WCI agreed to the settlement after the county agreed they would never expand the parking garage beyond two stories and 350 spaces.

The five acres of land now has a 120-space parking lot. The parking garage will be built on top of the existing parking lot.

Dunnuck said the county would look at leasing other space in the area while construction was occurring so people would have somewhere to park. Construction on the parking lot is expected to begin sometime in 2005.

As part of the settlement, both the county and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, will be allowed to periodically use the garage at night for a fee. Most of the time the garage will close around sundown.

County officials say the parking garage is needed to improve beach access in the area. The garage is expected to generate $5,000 to $10,000 in annual revenue for the rental of the facility and an additional $100,000 per year in day-to-day parking fees.

Previous reports in the Daily News have said the settlement was reached after the county agreed to let WCI expand the Waterside Shops off of U.S. 41 near Pine Ridge Road. On Tuesday, county officials took issue with that assertion and said it wasn't true.

Dunnuck said the issue of the Waterside Shops was separate from the lawsuit settlement. He said a decision on whether to allow an expansion of Waterside had not yet been made.

"The parking garage will not have any influence over any of the decisions that are made on the Waterside Shops," Dunnuck said.

County parks and recreation officials have been fighting on a number of fronts to increase the public's access to the beaches. The parking garage is expected to make it easier for inland residents to get to the beach, Dunnuck said.