Maurice Gutierrez didn’t have a gray hair when he first heard of a proposal to build a connecting boardwalk to Sugden Regional Park in East Naples.
As Collier County cut the ribbon on the long-awaited Bayshore Boardwalk on Feb. 26, a silver-haired Gutierrez celebrated the feat — a feat that took more than two decades to achieve.
For more than 20 years, Gutierrez has sat on the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board, which spearheaded the project. For much of his time on the board, he’s served as its chairman.
“I used to have dark hair when I joined the board. Those days are gone,” he said.
He credited the late Bill Neal for having the vision for the pedestrian-only boardwalk, built on a 17-acre tract owned by the CRA.
Neal, a fellow East Naples resident, led the effort to create the CRA, as a way to revitalize an area that covers 1,800 acres north and south of the Bayshore Drive/U.S. 41 East intersection, including the high-profile triangle where U.S. 41 and Davis Boulevard meet.
“He was a real inspiration, and we really kept this vision going of ‘hey, this would really change Bayshore,” Gutierrez said of the CRA board and the boardwalk.
Over time, the vision grew.
The result: A 15-foot-wide, 400-foot-long, hardscaped, lighted pathway, with benches, leads into an elevated 1,350-foot-long boardwalk that meanders through native wetlands and uplands, connecting Bayshore Drive with the county-owned Sugden Park.
Gutierrez recalled how the founders of Naples Botanical Garden once eyed the site and how they chose a much larger location off Bayshore Drive, where the garden has thrived. It all turned out for the better, he said, allowing for the boardwalk to eventually be built on the vacant land — meeting one of the CRA’s priorities to improve connectivity.
The project faced its share of challenges over the years.
“Twice, we had grant money from the state to build it, not as you see it today, but on a smaller scale. We returned it twice,” Gutierrez said.
Twice, developers proposed their own versions of the boardwalk, but they failed to get financing, he said.
Those failures actually allowed the CRA’s board to continue pushing for a better project, with county commission and community support, Gutierrez said.
“I’m really proud that our community stood behind us,” he said. “We had big workshops and every time we did, those that would show up to share ideas with us were totally supportive of it.”
The nonprofit Naples Botanical Garden had a hand in the project, helping out with the landscaping design, including providing free advice and free plants to “put the lipstick” on it, Gutierrez said.
He added: “Without them, it would not look as nice as it does. They are so involved with what the CRA does.”
Now, developers with interest in building on nearby land owned by the CRA will have to do it around the boardwalk. Solicitations are expected to go out soon in hopes of attracting proposals, Gutierrez said.
“We are going to be very selective, so that whatever goes there has got to give back to the community. That has always been our focus. That whatever happens, it has to give back to the community,” he said.
As for the boardwalk, he considers it a signature project for the CRA, on top of Metropolitan Naples, a very visible, mixed-use, high-rise development off Davis Boulevard, which is nearing completion.
While some aren’t happy about the height of Metropolitan Naples, approved years ago as a catalyst project for the redevelopment area, Gutierrez pointed out that Collier County does not have the same height restrictions as the city, making it harder to control.
“I wish we had height restrictions like the city of Naples,” he said. “That has really kept them in check, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got.”
If the CRA had not built the boardwalk, it could have become another high-rise development, Gutierrez said.
He described the boardwalk as a “game changer” for the community. He’s not only proud of the project, but what he expects it to bring to the two vacant parcels nearby.
“We’ve always held to this vision of ‘hey, redevelopment does not mean overdevelopment, and this really gives back to the community,” Gutierrez said. “And, if the two parcels in front are developed fine, but at least we have something that will never change.”
One day, Gutierrez would like to see the new boardwalk named after his late friend, Bill Neal, who envisioned it decades ago. A former Air Force veteran and metals manufacturing executive, Neal became a prominent community leader in Collier County after retiring in 1994.
The funding for the boardwalk came entirely from the CRA.
Every year, the CRA captures a portion of the property taxes generated in the area to fund capital projects and improvements, such as this one. The amount the CRA gets and budgets is based on the growth of property values over time.
The cost of the boardwalk was about $3 million, and it came in under budget. That doesn’t include the price for the land.
The CRA acquired the land long ago, purchasing two parcels in 2006 and 2008 for nearly $5.4 million.
County commissioners, acting as the CRA, approved the construction contract with Infinite Construction, LLC in December 2024.
Collier Commissioner Dan Kowal was among the many who attended the ribbon cutting. He estimated the event attracted a crowd of more than 150.
The boardwalk, he said, will help bring more attention to Sugden Park, which he described as a jewel, with its lake, beach and sailing center.
On Thursday, after walking the boardwalk himself, he ventured onto Bayshore Drive, checking out some of the newer cafes and shops that have opened and expanded there, and he believes others will do the same, with the improved connectivity.
“People will take advantage of it,” Kowal said.
He added: “I truly believe it’s going to reenergize the Bayshore community and reenergize a park that probably doesn’t get as much attention as it should.”
The boardwalk, he said, will only get more beautiful when the rainy season comes, and the native plants, so generously donated by the Naples Botanical Garden, spread out and flower.
The funding to maintain the boardwalk will come from a Bayshore Beautification MSTU (Municipal Service Taxing Unit). The MSTU gets its money from a special tax assessment levied on property owners within its boundaries, which cover about 1,133 acres.
Gutierrez hinted at the potential for a second phase of the boardwalk to create an offshoot that would allow for better viewing of some of the more unique and natural parts of the protected property.
“I was a businessperson my whole life, but when it comes to my neighborhood, I’m on it,” he said. “It’s where I live. I’ll do what I can, and when I’m asked to do more, I’ll try to step up, as I always have.”
Laura Layden is a business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: East Naples boardwalk opens, a 20-year vision realized
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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