Naples, Port Royal, Aqualane Shores, Old Naples, Park Shore, Homes. Real Estate Listings - Florida a

October 2011

Hi –

We welcome the cooler weather and the return of the hustle and bustle of season!

Trader Joe’s will open its first Florida store in North Naples, at the former Borders bookstore at 10600 U.S. 41 North.  The 14,000-square foot grocery store will open later this year.  Trader Joe’s, headquartered in Monrovia, CA, carries the basics along with exotic foods.  Store employees wear Hawaiian shirts, as “traders on the culinary seas.”

The Naples Community Hospital’s comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation center has been moved to a new facility, the Brookdale Center, on the North Naples hospital campus.  The 22,000 square foot facility is for adults, servicing patients needing extensive services after strokes, spinal injuries, brain injuries, or multi-trauma injuries and has 54 beds.  NCH is spending $3.1 million on the project as well as a $2.5 million gift from the New York-based Brookdale Foundation Group.  The president of the Brookdale Foundation, Stephen Schwarz, is a part-time resident of Naples.

The season’s opening exhibit at the Patty and Jay Baker Naples Museum of Art is an exciting collection of “Degas: The Private Impressionist, Works on Paper by the Artist and His Circle.”  The 24 drawings, 20 prints, 8 photographs and 3 mono-types are from the private collection of Robert Flynn Johnson, curator emeritus of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.  The exhibit is on display until January 15^th, 2012.   

Many folks in town have wondered about the small blue lights attached to the traffic lights at intersections throughout the City of Naples.  They are the latest tool to help police catch red-light runners.  The small blue lights are a replacement for the white lights that have been used for the past six years – they are visible from most angles and change with the traffic lights allowing officers to clearly see when someone has entered the intersection after the light has changed.  The new blue lights are LED lights, which are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and easier to see, prompting local motorists to notice the change.  They are provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, but installed by the county. 

Arthrex, the Naples-based medical device manufacturer, has closed on a 21-acre land transfer from Barron Collier Companies in the Ave Maria area off Oil Well Road. Construction of a 160,000-square-foot plant is expected to start by the beginning of 2012.

Domino’s Pizza guru, Tom Monaghan, is starting a new venture in Naples, Gyrene Hamburgers, at 51 Ninth Street S., in an 800 square foot space.  The menu will consist of hamburgers only – no drinks, no sides!  There will be 2 hamburger choices: pick-up or free delivery, but no seating.  Drivers will go only 1.5 miles radius from the store and arrive in 15 minutes or less.  Employees will wear camouflage uniforms and the drivers will be known as gyrene joggers. 

City officials have discussed and debated a plan that would dramatically alter the configuration of U.S. 41 – rerouting U.S. 41 at Golden Gate Parkway eastward to Goodlette, then south eventually rejoining the current highway.  Although no official word has been delivered by the Florida Department of Transportation a spokesman, Johnny Limbaugh, says “the relocation of U.S. 41 does not appear to be viable.”

Sadly, for the second year, the Gulf Coast snook season is closed following the fish-killing hard freeze of January 2010.  The closure is needed to offer further protection for snook stocks.  Meanwhile, state biologists have determined east coast snook stocks are healthy enough for harvest, so anglers on Florida’s east coast may try to catch the wily game fish.

Lutgert Insurance recently sent out a handy chart to help determine how often you should reappraise valuable items, to avoid being under or over insured.  They suggest, for example, fine jewelry up to $20,000 should be reappraised every 5 years, while jewelry worth over $50,000 should be appraised annually.  For a full list, go to www.lutgertinsurance.com and click on the newsletter link.

Naples Area Board of Realtors released sales figures for the past 12 months and there are many favorable indicators included in the statistics.  Overall inventory has decreased significantly (18.5% in just the past year) and is at its lowest level since January 2007.  The Naples Beach area saw tremendous activity, with a 23% increase in pending sales for the second quarter compared to the same period in 2010. NABOR also noted that single-family home sales above $2 million increased 56% for the same sales period year over year.

Now that season is approaching (and the car carriers are arriving daily) if you are considering selling your Naples property – or would just like to discuss the current market – please give me a call directly at 239-403-4529 or send a line via email at ruth.trettis@sothebysrealty.com.

That’s all from your gal at Premier!

Sincerely,

Ruth L Trettis