The New Naples Pier Will Be Higher and Stronger, With No Snack Stand on It

"Mark my words, if we don't have concessions, we are going to get lambasted by our residents and our tourists." Naples City Council member Berne Barton said that on March 4, 2026. Minutes later the Council voted unanimously for a pier design without them.

That vote matters more than any construction milestone this year. The pier at the west end of 12th Avenue South is being rebuilt for the seventh time in its 137 years. Every design choice on this version answers one question: what can survive the next Ian? The answer is higher decking, thicker piles, and nothing over the water that a storm can tear apart. For anyone in Aqualane Shores who walks north to the beach ends, the pier coming back in 2027 is stronger and plainer than the one Ian took.

The snack stand was gone before demolition started

Food has been sold at the Naples Pier since 1946. Cosmos at the Pier took the lease in 2015 and sold pizza, hot dogs, drinks, and beach supplies. That lease brought the city about $100,000 a year.

Two decisions ended that run, and they came from different directions.

First, FEMA told the city that neither the former Cosmos restaurant nor any permanent concession stand would be allowed over the water, citing risk and new guidelines. That carries weight because FEMA is paying part of the bill. According to the Naples Daily News, the agency approved $11.4 million in grant funding last December after the city had waited three years.

Second, the Council had already moved that way on its own. In July 2024, after reviewing survey results, members agreed by consensus that concessions were unnecessary. They worried a stand could cause congestion at the pier entrance and bring noise and odors to the homes right there.

So by the March 4 vote, the only question left was whether anything would be sold there at all. The compromise is a portable cart selling water, ice cream, and soda, with electrical power run to the land side to support it. City Manager Gary Young said FEMA would not prohibit a cart. When council member John Krol asked about a spot for a food truck, Young said there was no room, so a cart is the only mobile option. Council member Bill Kramer supported the cart but said permanent concessions should not return. Council member Linda Penniman said she did not want anything that would compete with nearby local businesses.

The Council agreed to explore a cart, not to install one. No operator has been named, and nothing published so far says whether a cart would sell bait.

What the land side gets instead

The approved plan is the third version from Naples-based MHK Architecture. It shrinks the land-side buildings and drops outdoor dining. What architect Maureen Minker presented to the Council comes down to this:

• North entry building: the men's restroom includes a small beach patrol office with its own bathroom, plus a family restroom.
• Former changing room: the rear changing room becomes pier storage.
• South side: the women's restroom area gets an added shade structure and benches outside.
• Showers: outdoor showers sit outside the shaded area, and the south-side shade structure is smaller than earlier drafts.
• Police and beach patrol: officers get private offices and restrooms alongside the public restrooms.
• New feature: an underwater camera so visitors can watch marine life.

On the pier itself, the City lists benches and fish-cleaning stations as planned amenities. The plan includes roofed shelters at the midpoint and the end. The mid-pavilion is already under construction.

Losing the Cosmos lease doesn't leave a hole in upkeep. Young told the Council the city gets a $500,000 Tourist Development Council grant every year for pier and beach-end maintenance and operations, and beach parking revenue and beach funds also go to the pier. The food money is gone. The maintenance money is not.

Why the pier still looks bare in October

Drive past on Gulf Shore Boulevard South and you see piles, concrete, and very little walking surface. That is how the job is scheduled. The ipe decking, a tropical hardwood picked for its resistance to rot, goes on only after all the concrete is poured. The deck is the last big piece, and the concrete has to be finished first.

The City's own timeline shows how far along the concrete is:

1. April 13, 2026: demolition of the old pier finished.
2. June 17: Shoreline Foundation began building a trestle on the south side. It lets work continue even when weather sends the offshore barges to shelter.
3. June 26: first pour for the bents, about 20 cubic yards. The whole project needs about 602.
4. July 24: third pour done, about 200 cubic yards in place, and two-thirds of the new decking delivered.
5. September 18: the mid-pavilion pour pushed the project past 50 percent of the total concrete.

Two-thirds of the wood has been on site since late July, waiting for the concrete to finish. The City says most production piles are in, crews are building the concrete substructure, framing, and first decking sections, and electrical work and renovations to the bathroom and storage building are underway. It credits a calm summer for keeping the work moving. A Naples Daily News drone flight on September 21 recorded the progress from above.

Built to stay put when the next storm comes

The old pier's last few years explain the new design. The City renovated it in 2015. Hurricane Irma damaged it two years later, and Ian did far worse five years after that. On September 28, 2022, about 460 feet of the pier was badly damaged, and about 140 feet, including the end shelter and more than 30 pilings, ended up on the Gulf floor. Only about 100 feet survived, and that piece reopened in November 2022.

The replacement answers that damage directly. Piles go from 14 inches across to 18. There are fewer of them, spaced farther apart, to reduce impact on the shoreline. The concrete support under the decking is stronger, and the whole deck sits higher. A January News-Press report put the rise at three feet. The pier keeps its 1,000-foot length and is 12 feet wide.

Ruling out a restaurant over the water follows the same thinking. A building at the end of a pier is exactly what Ian ripped off this one, along with the concession area and midpoint shelter it gutted.

Part of the old pier now sits offshore. In late April, 59 pilings were dropped at the Wasmer reef site, about 10 miles off Gordon Pass. They weigh 300 tons and add to a reef more than a decade old that shelters young and adult fish. The City says the reef was first established in 2015.

Sources describe the cost in different ways. Shoreline Foundation's construction contract, awarded October 2, 2024, was $23.5 million. Gulfshore Business puts the full project at $26.3 million. Turrell, Hall & Associates leads the architecture and engineering with MHK Architecture.

Getting to the water until mid-2027

The City still lists the closure as "approximately 18 months" from the January 6 start and has not set a reopening date. The Naples Daily News reported on October 1 that the project is expected to take 14 to 18 months, aiming for a July 2027 finish. That is the same month it reported in February. Treat July 2027 as a target. No source has promised an opening day.

Here is what this season looks like until then:

• Closed: the pier, its stairs, restrooms, and showers, and 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South.
• Parking: only the western third of the pier lot at 12th Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard South is open to the public. The other two-thirds is set aside for construction.
• Beach access: the City built pedestrian bypasses at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends. Both stay open for the whole project, and both have restrooms.

If a sunset walk used to mean the 12th Avenue South stairs, the 13th Avenue South beach end is now the closest open way to the sand. Those two bypasses will handle pier traffic through the 2026–27 winter season.

If you're wondering how the 2027 pier, the shorter walk via 13th Avenue South, or the quieter beach ends might affect your time on the Olde Naples waterfront, McGreevy and Comisar follow these projects block by block and are glad to talk through what we're seeing. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.