Frequently Asked Questions

MSD Partners, L.P., an SEC-registered investment adviser in New York. The firm was formed in 2009 by the principals of MSD Capital, L.P. to enable a select group of investors to invest in strategies that were developed by MSD Capital—established in 1998 to exclusively manage the capital of Michael Dell and his family. MSD’s other luxury resort and real estate projects include Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Four Seasons Resort Maui, The Boca Raton and Fairmont Miramar.

Yes. The Athens Group will replace the existing 319-room hotel with a new 216-room luxury hotel.

Golf and tennis will continue to be an important part of the resort lifestyle at the Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort. Additional recreational amenities and experiences are expected to be included in the resort to elevate the entire experience.

Yes. Both HB’s on the Gulf and the Sunset Beach Bar will be renovated and will reopen to the public at the same time the new hotel opens.

At the new resort, parking will be provided in garages underneath the hotel and Market Square, and under each of the residential buildings to accommodate the resort’s parking needs.

Traffic engineering studies have concluded that traffic trips will be reduced by more than 10 percent on Gulf Shore Boulevard North. This is due to many factors including 99 fewer hotel rooms, a 50 percent reduction in the amount of meeting and conference room space from the previous hotel, and parking underneath each building that will eliminate the need for most of the valet trips along and across Gulf Shore Boulevard North.

The Athens Group anticipates that the project’s site work will begin in the first half of 2022. The project is expected to be developed in three phases, with the first phase consisting of the development of the new luxury hotel, Market Square, and the beachfront condominiums along with the redevelopment of the Clubhouse conference center. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2024.

Four Seasons has been selected as the operator for the luxury hotel.

The Athens Group was selected by the Watkins family because of Athens’ vision for the future of the property, their understanding of and sensitivity to the Naples community, and their first-class development portfolio of authentic high-end hotels, resorts and residences that they have created over the past 30 years. The Athens Group is committed to embracing the legacy of The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club by preserving the hotel use, beach access, HB’s on the Gulf, and the Sunset Beach Bar, along with the resort’s expansive recreation and open space in the heart of Naples. You can learn more about The Athens Group and its portfolio at AthensDevCo.com.

The golf course will be closed during the initial phase of construction in order to accommodate the on-site construction access road, the construction staging area, and employee parking. Once Athens acquires the property, it intends to keep the tennis center in operation through April 2023.

Athens will provide 552 parking spaces for the hotel, Market Square and the golf and tennis facilities as required by the parking plan that was approved by the City Council. All parking will be provided in garages under the hotel and Market Square, and in adjacent surface parking areas along with a first-class valet parking program. Additionally, each residential condominium will have its own parking garage for its residents and guests as required by the City’s code. Athens will also be providing, at its sole cost, an additional 11 parking spaces to the community for enhanced beach access at the 8th Avenue North public parking area next to the hotel.

As required by the City of Naples review and approval process for the project, The Athens Group and its approved parking and traffic consultant, Stantec, created a valet parking plan, a parking needs analysis, and a traffic impact study that analyzed and addressed the resort’s parking needs and traffic impacts.

As the number of hotel rooms is being reduced from 319 guest rooms to 216 guest rooms and the current meeting space is being reduced from 24,000 square feet to approximately 12,000 square feet, the new hotel’s parking requirements and traffic demand (as opposed to the residential parking requirements, which is provided separately from the hotel’s parking) will be reduced.

Recognizing the importance of improving the resort’s traffic patterns for the neighborhood, the community and the resort’s guests, The Athens Group studied vehicular and pedestrian movements along with improvements to Gulf Shore Boulevard North in order to create a plan that is expected to reduce the resort’s overall traffic with sufficient on-site parking in garages under the hotel and Market Square, along with a first-class valet parking program. By consolidating the hotel’s parking underneath these buildings in garages, traffic will be reduced on Gulf Shore Boulevard North, as the valet attendants will no longer need to shuttle cars to and from the hotel and/or the Clubhouse conference center to multiple hotel parking lots that are spread out on the property as was the case with the previous hotel.

On-site, under-podium garage parking for the hotel and Market Square should alleviate much of the need for valet attendants to cross Gulf Shore Boulevard North.

Valet parking at the hotel will be available to everyone who would like to enjoy the resort and its facilities, although access may be restricted during high-volume events.

Yes, the bike lanes along Gulf Shore Boulevard North will be retained. With respect to South Golf Drive, it is our understanding that the City is considering a series of improvements, including the addition of bike lanes. Athens will continue to work with the City and our neighbors on any street improvements that require our assistance or input.

The City’s public parking on 8th Avenue North next to the hotel will be expanded by Athens, at its sole cost, with the addition of 11 parking spaces along with additional landscaping. Athens also will construct a sidewalk from Gulf Shore Boulevard North along the resort’s southern property line to provide improved pedestrian access along 8th Avenue North.

Yes. Currently, there are multiple pedestrian crossing points across Gulf Shore Boulevard North that can be made safer and also more efficient for vehicular traffic on the street. The Athens Group’s plan consolidates the multiple pedestrian crossings into one at-grade crossing that is currently called the “Coconut Connector” along with the creation of a landscape median that separates the north-bound traffic from the south-bound traffic. As a result, there will be less interruption of vehicular traffic along the street, and the pedestrian experience will be safer with enhanced and improved lighting and other pedestrian safety technologies.

In order to reduce traffic and to improve the resort’s parking capacity, all hotel and Clubhouse conference center guest parking will be serviced by the first-class valet parking team. As a result, self-parking options are not currently envisioned.

The hotel’s loading docks will be located in a concealed area that will be part of the renovated Clubhouse conference center, with an additional hotel loading dock in the hotel garage that is smaller than the other docks. These dock locations will improve the Gulf Shore Boulevard North traffic flow by eliminating the need for delivery trucks to maneuver in the street in order to access the property’s loading docks, as was the case with the previous hotel, since there will now be adequate space on-site for delivery trucks to conduct all necessary maneuvers internally.

The Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort will further improve the previous hotel’s traffic situation by providing a new and improved loading dock that will be concealed from the public’s view, with additional on-site delivery truck circulation space so that all delivery trucks can be maneuvered and accommodated on-site without the use of the surrounding public roads, which was not the case previously. The traffic delays resulting from delivery trucks backing out onto the street will be eliminated.

The resort’s trash will continue to be consolidated and picked up from a shielded facility in the center of the golf course, as was the case with the previous hotel.

The Athens Group’s detailed Construction Management Plan addresses the important construction planning issues such as construction staging, haul routes, employee parking, the construction access road through the golf course, along with its direct entry and exit from US 41, in order to eliminate construction traffic within the adjacent residential neighborhoods, security, construction fencing, noise, dust and vibration. The Construction Management Plan has been designed to minimize the construction impact on our neighbors and the community. This plan has been vetted with the City and the project’s neighbors and stakeholders, and it reflects their input. The Construction Management Plan can be downloaded here. The Athens Group will also have a dedicated construction contact person who will be available 24 hours a day to address all construction-related concerns.

The Athens Group’s Construction Management Plan provides detailed information on Athens’ plan to mitigate noise and dust during construction. The Construction Management Plan can be downloaded here.