Board approves plans for downtown area project

Renaissance Village, a roughly $500 million residential and retail development, moved one step closer to construction today after the Naples Design Review Board unanimously approved its final design plans.

The 21.17-acre project, which will replace Grand Central Station at 300 South Goodlette-Frank Road, will go before the Planning Advisory Board in August and is expected to begin construction in October.

Once the project is completed, it will be linked to Naples' trendy downtown retail district through the redesign of Four Corners, where U.S. 41 meets Fifth Avenue South. It also will be connected to the Bayfront condo and retail center across Goodlette-Frank Road because both will share the same traffic light and some architectural features.

"We jointly believe it will be an asset to the city," DRB chairman Frank Duane said before the board voted 4-0 to give the project the go-ahead.

After the meeting, architect Matthew Kragh of Architectural Network Inc. said Antaramian had developed eight buildings on Fifth Avenue and this would draw from that architecture.

"We know the buildings around it so we tried to build a development that has its own architectural flow, but will be sensitive to coincide with the context around it," Kragh said. "We wanted it to blend in with Bayfront because that's across the street."

The hearing today involved only minor tweaking to the plan, which calls for 288 residential units and 37,000 square feet of commercial and retail shops. So far, Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery have committed to the project.

Troy Rush, the project's developer, said there also will be a mix of upscale and casual restaurants, including an Italian restaurant, boutiques, and other commercial tenants. In the future, he said, there could be up to 100,000 square feet of commercial and retail development.

Although it wasn't the main intent, the project will have a "green" environmental component - rooftop gardens and fountains that reduce energy costs and cool the condos. "It's almost like a golf course up there," Kragh said. "It basically reflects the heat and the plants absorb the oxygen."

Residents who look out over the parking garage won't see a rooftop, he said, but undulating hills, fountains and a common area with a pool.

Fifth Avenue South will be its southern boundary, where Florida Gulf Coast University will build Renaissance Academy, the continuing education program currently housed in a building on Fifth Avenue South. FGCU hired Architectural Network to design the school and a 350-seat theater.

Antaramian has called Renaissance Village the last phase of Naples Bay Resort and Marina and Sandpiper condominiums. The resort is a mix of homes, four-star hotel accommodations, a marina, upscale dining and shopping. Renaissance Village residents will be able to walk to Naples Bay Resort and use the fitness center there. The village, which will feature archways, lush landscaping and fountains, will be similar to Fifth Avenue South. Architecturally, the design will mirror the Bank of America building at 780 Fifth Avenue South.