The days of the Naples Beach Hotel are numbered.

While the buildings of the iconic Gulf Shore Boulevard hotel will soon be destroyed, some of its elements will survive thanks to charitable donations from the new owners.

The Athens Group and MSD Partners, who recently purchased the 125-acre hotel property for a multi-million dollar redevelopment project known as the Naples Beach Club, began the site’s transformation by removing the remaining content, to inside and out.

Valuable content was donated to four local charities: Habitat for Humanity, St. Matthew’s House, Greater Naples YMCA and von Arx Wildlife Hospital.

Donations included everything from indoor and outdoor furniture and kitchen supplies to towels and soap.

Give a hand

Lisa Lefkow, CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Collier County, said her home-building charity received many bedrooms, as well as patio furniture and other lucrative items from the decades old hotel.

“These things will be sold in our ReStores,” she said. “Some will end up in Habitat houses because they are selected and bought by the owners. Others will end up in the community and the proceeds from all sales will help build more Habitat houses.”

Last year, the Chapter’s ReStores, which sell new and used furniture, appliances, home decor and building supplies in Collier County, grossed more than $ 1 million. to help build homes for families in need.

The von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has been given towels, its # 1 ongoing need, said Joanna Fitzgerald, director.

“We take care of thousands of injured, sick and orphaned animals every year,” she said. “Having this donation of towels from the Naples Beach Hotel is of great help to our Wildlife Hospital, especially as wildlife admissions are on the increase. “

Donations help charity operations

St. Matthew’s House received enough hotel furniture to modernize 24 rooms at its Port LaBelle Inn & Conference Center in Hendry County, said Steven Brooder, who became the association’s permanent CEO last week, after having occupied an interim position.

“It was awesome,” he said of the donations.

The Port LaBelle Inn operates as a social enterprise, generating money for the operations of the charity and providing temporary and permanent jobs and training to clients in need as they seek to rebuild their lives.

Donations included bed frames, tables and bedside tables.

“It was just beautiful,” Brooder said.

Earlier this year, he said, St. Matthew’s House received boxes of food from the hotel’s freezers and pantries as it shut down, which helped the association feed the homeless.

“It was great when they backed the truck up here,” Brooder recalls.

One step forward

The Naples Beach Hotel rescue operation marks an important step for the new owners of the establishment, as it will make way for the demolition of the buildings of the old hotel.

In a statement, Jay Newman, chief operating officer of The Athens Group, said the demolition would begin after the new year and would take about three months.

A new, five-star, 216-room Four Seasons resort is slated to open mid to late 2024, along with a Marketplace – and first residences – in the new Naples Beach Club development.

The Marketplace will feature shopping, dining and entertainment options, providing a new and unique experience, open to residents, guests and the community.

The first residences will be built on the beach and in a mixed-use building on the market square, across the street.

A new life

The upscale project will include up to 185 homes designed by renowned architectural firm Hart Howerton, headquartered in New York and San Francisco.

The new resort will mark Four Seasons’ debut on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The Athens group and MSD Properties bought the sprawling property last month in what one real estate watcher described as a “monster deal,” paying more than $ 362 million for the hotel and its others. assets, including its 18-hole championship golf course and tennis center. .

While many residents of Naples welcome the project, a vocal group continues to oppose it, concerned about its size and scope and the future of the open green space, especially the golf course.

The new owners are eager to leave.

“While we experienced some minor delays with our overall schedule for the hotel, we are delighted to move forward with our redevelopment,” said Newman.