Bayshore's First Fall With the Boardwalk Open, Planned as One Saturday

At 4265 Bayshore Drive, a lighted 400-foot path leaves the road and turns into a 1,350-foot elevated boardwalk that ends at Sugden Regional Park. Collier County held the ribbon-cutting on February 26, after more than two decades of planning by the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Community Redevelopment Agency's advisory board. That means October is the first time Bayshore's busy season starts with the drive and the park joined by a public route.

That timing matters. For years, the galleries, the food truck park, the restaurants and the Botanical Garden all sat along one road as separate stops. This fall they work as a single day. Celebration Park has just reopened with a reworked layout, and the arts district's calendar puts several events on the same Saturday. The biggest proposal now on the table for the corridor is being designed to plug into that same boardwalk.

The route that took twenty years

The money explains why the boardwalk counts as a piece of infrastructure and not just an amenity. The CRA paid about $3 million to build it, and Marco Eagle reported it came in under budget. The land underneath was bought years ago for nearly $5.4 million. The CRA assembled about 17 acres around Lake Kelly, a natural preserve that also serves as a stormwater retention area, to make the connection to Sugden Park possible. In the same coverage, the project was called a signature move that improves connections and also keeps the land from being overbuilt.

Maurice Gutierrez chairs the advisory board. When he first heard the boardwalk proposed, he didn't have a gray hair. He had a silver head of hair by the time the ribbon was cut. The street addresses show how the corridor lines up now. Bayshore Bodega is at 3248 Bayshore Drive and TWiST Gallery is at 3570. The boardwalk entrance is at 4265, and Naples Botanical Garden sits at 4820. From one end of the drive to the other, the stops are spread out but connected.

One Saturday, October 10

This Saturday the calendar happens to line up, and it's a good test of the corridor as one outing.

Morning at TWiST Gallery. The Bayshore Arts District's Second Saturdays runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at TWiST Gallery, 3570 Bayshore Dr. #103. It starts the day at the north end of the arts district.

Late morning on the boardwalk. From TWiST, head south to 4265 Bayshore Drive. The hardscaped path runs into the elevated boardwalk, and the boardwalk ends at Sugden Regional Park. The 400-foot approach path from the road is lighted.

Afternoon at the Garden. Music in the Garden returns to Naples Botanical Garden on select Saturdays from October through May, 2 to 4 p.m. On October 10 the performers are Havy Rodriguez & The Miami Splash. The Garden is at 4820 Bayshore Drive, the far end of the stretch.

Evening, back up the drive. For dinner, the long-running spots are close by. The Real Macaw was posting weekend specials for October 3 and 4, and Rebecca's is taking reservations for brunch, lunch and dinner into this week. Bayshore Bodega at 3248 Bayshore Drive has café service, coffee and food. The newest option is a familiar one with a new setup.

What Celebration Park changed, and what it kept

Celebration Park, at 2880 Becca Ave., closed for all of September and reopened October 1. Founder Rebecca Maddox opened it in 2018. The site covers 0.75 acres on the water and has always been reachable by car or by boat.

The Naples Daily News described the work as a rethink of how guests move through the space from the moment they arrive. A mobile bar called First Pour now greets people at the entrance. Inside there is a new lounge, a play lawn and a stage, upgraded seating for live music, waterfront lounge areas, a refreshed waterfront bar and a new sunset deck. A newly created park map helps guests find their way around the renovated areas. The bar menu now covers cocktails, frozen drinks, beer, wine and seasonal options. Five trucks were open for the reopening, including Slice, the park's newest concept.

"The goal was never to change what people love about Celebration Park. It was to build on it — the food trucks, live music, waterfront setting and community atmosphere — and create a stronger experience for the next chapter of the Park." Lisandra Duarte, Celebration Park spokesperson

The park also plans to partner with local businesses, entertainers and organizations. That fits with what happens a block or two away. The Naples Daily News puts Celebration Park in the same Bayshore dining scene as The Real Macaw, Rebecca's and Bayshore Bodega. Together they're the obvious last stop on the Saturday route.

The rest of the fall, on the same stretch

October 10 isn't a one-off. The arts district and the Garden repeat this pattern every month through December, and First Fridays add an evening option starting in November.

The arts district lists First Fridays as an evening of art, vendors, music, food and drinks. Día de los Muertos is included with Garden admission and free for members. Bayshore Bodega describes a weekly waterfront market, but the only date it has posted so far is from May. Check its site before planning a Sunday around it.

The next project is drawn to meet the boardwalk

The same address where the boardwalk starts is now the subject of the corridor's biggest proposal. On September 21, the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Local Redevelopment Advisory Board voted to support starting negotiations with Opera Naples. The talks cover three CRA-owned parcels totaling about 6.39 acres at 4265 Bayshore Drive. Opera Naples was the only organization to answer the county's invitation to negotiate.

The project is called Theater in the Garden. Opera Naples is pursuing it with two nonprofit partners, Theater in the Garden Inc. and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation. The proposal includes a 700-seat indoor theater and a 600-seat outdoor pavilion. According to the Marco Eagle, the board backed it mainly for its public benefits. Those include public parking and restrooms, and a direct link to the Bayshore Boardwalk and Sugden Park. So the opera house would add parking and a performance venue to the boardwalk route.

The offer is $1 million cash for the land. Gutierrez said it would lead to a $50 million to $60 million investment by Opera Naples and its partners. Two earlier arts and culture proposals for this land failed. The board pointed to this one's strong financial backing as the difference. The board also told CRA staff to look at performance guarantees, deed restrictions and construction milestones during negotiations, along with security and parking.

It's still a proposal. County commissioners make the final decision. The proposal could reach them by December, and the hope is to secure the land by January 2027. Separately, the CRA's preliminary schedule for Bayshore Phase I stormwater, water and wastewater work shows bidding from October 2026 through March 2027. Construction is penciled in from April 2027 to April 2028. On that schedule, this fall and winter come before any major construction on the drive.

When the boardwalk opened in February, it turned Bayshore's separate stops into one connected route, and the opera house plan is drawn to extend it. If you own near the arts district and want to talk about how the boardwalk or the Opera Naples proposal could affect your property, Pelican Vista Realty follows Bayshore project by project, and we're glad to walk through it with you.