Naples city council gave the thumbs-up Wednesday to redeveloping a section of 5th Avenue South - which could dramatically change that part of the popular downtown street. Developers want to replace the single-story businesses on the northwest corner of 5th Avenue South and 5th Street South with a new multi-level building, designed for retail and condominiums.
Paddy Murphy owns Paddy Murphy's Irish Pub, right next to the planned redevelopment site. He said that being so close to the construction of a multi-level building would be more than a little inconvenient.
"If this project goes ahead goes ahead as planned, it's going to be a disaster for this side of the avenue for a good year, between demolition and dirt and dust," he said.
Not everyone feels that way. Jim Smith owns the commercial building occupied by the Wind In The Willows gift and clothing store down the street, and believes that cities need to grow in order to thrive.
"We have 39 restaurants on the street," Smith said. "What we don't have is a great deal of retail. A lot of the retail has been replaced with realtor offices and other things."
The owner of the property to be redeveloped is Phil McCabe, who said that the buildings are old and need to be replaced.
Development plans were brought before the Naples city council Wednesday. Some council members voiced concerns about flooding in the underground garage proposed for the new building, but eventually voted 5-to-2 to give the go-ahead after more than 4 hours of discussion.
