The new Naples Pier is a leaner structure than the one it replaces. It will stand on fewer, thicker pilings set farther apart, with a higher deck. The landside buildings are smaller than an earlier plan proposed, and that plan's kitchen is gone. The old pier wasn't hauled to a landfill either. Fifty-nine of its pilings now sit on the Gulf floor about ten miles off Gordon Pass.
The pier was due for this kind of rethink. The City of Naples rebuild project page traces the pier back to 1888 and lists major rebuilds after storms in 1910, 1926, 1944 and 1960. A significant renovation in 2015 was followed by Hurricane Irma damage two years later, and five years after that Hurricane Ian did far worse. After that run, the design team's first question was what the pier could do without.
What Ian Actually Took
The scale of the damage explains the design. According to the City, Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa on September 28, 2022, roughly 104 miles from Naples, as a Category 4 storm. Even at that distance, about 460 feet of the pier was severely damaged. Around 140 feet of it, including the end shelter and more than 30 pilings, ended up on the Gulf floor. Waves gutted the concession area, the midpoint shelter and the storage facilities, and tore up the framing and decking around the public showers.
City engineers concluded that most of the structural components were compromised and that the whole pier should be replaced, for safety and long-term resiliency, rather than patched. Every rebuild before this one meant putting the pier back. This one meant redesigning what goes under the deck.
Fewer Pilings, Thicker Pilings, Higher Deck
The City's project page lists the structural changes plainly, and each one gives a storm less to work against.
| Element | Old pier | New pier |
|---|---|---|
| Pile diameter | 14 inches | 18 inches |
| Pile count and spacing | More piles, closer together | Fewer piles, placed farther apart |
| Support under the deck | Previous design | Stronger concrete support beneath Ipe hardwood decking |
| Overall elevation | Previous height | Raised |
The City gives two reasons for the reduced pile count. It means fewer impacts on the shoreline during construction, and the wider spacing is part of the resiliency package along with the thicker piles and higher deck. The decking will be Ipe, pronounced "ee-pay," a tropical hardwood the City picked for its durability and resistance to rot. Shoreline Foundation, Inc. is building it under a $23.5 million contract awarded on October 2, 2024. Turrell, Hall & Associates leads the architectural and engineering work in partnership with MHK Architecture.
Where the Work Stands This October
Most of this year's progress is below deck level, which is why the site can look slower from the beach than it actually is. The City's timeline sets the pace:
- January 5, 2026: public groundbreaking ceremony at the pier
- January 6: construction begins
- April 13: demolition of the old pier complete
- May 5: a month-long diving effort begins removing debris, including buried pilings from the 1990s, so the new pilings can go in safely
- June 17: crews start assembling a trestle on the south side so work can continue when weather sends the offshore barges to shelter
- June 26: first concrete pour for the bents, about 20 cubic yards, out of roughly 602 cubic yards the project needs in total
- July 24: third pour done, about 200 cubic yards placed, and two-thirds of the new decking delivered
- September 18: the concrete pour for the mid-pavilion pushes the project past 50 percent of its total concrete
The City says a calm summer helped construction keep strong momentum. It describes most production piles as in place, with crews building the cast-in-place concrete substructure and framing while electrical work and renovations to the bathroom and storage building move ahead. As of its July 24 entry, the City planned to start installing the Ipe once all the concrete was poured. So the warm wood surface most people picture will come late in the job, after a concrete phase that was just past halfway in mid-September.
The Naples Daily News opened its October 6, 2026 progress story by calling "When will the new Naples pier be open?" one of the most asked questions in Collier County. The City hasn't published a reopening date. Its stated closure period is about 18 months, and counting 18 months from the January 6 start lands around July 2027. That's an estimate from the City's own duration, not a promised date. No reopening ceremony has been announced.
The Landside Plan Got Smaller, Too
The same thinking applies on land. An earlier concept had a concession stand with outdoor dining. When City Council reviewed a revised landside design on March 4, 2026, the building volumes and deck area had been cut substantially from that scheme.
The revised plan reuses what's already there more than it adds. A small beach-patrol office with its own bathroom goes into the north building, which houses the men's restroom. The rear changing room becomes pier storage. A small shaded area with benches and educational boards goes outside the south building, which houses the women's restroom, and the outdoor showers stay. Council voted to move forward with the amended design.
Council also kept its decision against a permanent concession stand. It agreed to explore a portable cart with limited offerings such as water and ice cream, and it directed staff to assess electrical service and placement for a small vendor. The City Manager noted there was no dedicated space for a food truck. The Naples Daily News reported the outcome on March 5, describing the possible cart as a landside option.
Ian gutted the old concession area. The new plan doesn't rebuild it. For anyone who used to end a pier walk with a snack at the counter, a cart is the most the current plan allows.
Fishing is planned for. The City lists benches and fish-cleaning stations among the visitor amenities still to be installed. The City's approved design renderings show the landside structure from the north and south, along with views labeled for the shade structures, the end pavilion and the ramp. The City hasn't published fishing rules for the new pier yet.
Getting to the Beach While 12th Avenue Is Closed
The closure covers more than the pier itself, which matters on a crowded Saturday. Here's the current setup, per the City:
- Closed: the pier, its stairs, restrooms and showers, and 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South.
- Partly open: the pier parking lot at 12th Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard South. The western third stays open to the public, and the eastern two-thirds are closed for construction.
- Open for the whole project: pedestrian bypasses at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends, both with restrooms.
With two-thirds of the pier lot closed, the parking that remains goes quickly. Broad Avenue South to the north and 13th Avenue South to the south frame the work site. A walk along the sand between them takes you right past the new pilings and the mid-pavilion where the September pour happened.
The Old Pier, Ten Miles Out
Part of the old pier is still in the Gulf. On April 24, 2026, 59 concrete pilings from the old pier were deployed at Wasmer Reef, expanding an artificial reef first set up in 2015. The Naples Daily News described the deployment as a 300-ton foundation for a new underwater ecosystem, about ten miles offshore of Gordon Pass.
Collier County's artificial reef register lists the site as the Wasmer Naples Pier Reef. It sits at 26° 2.029' N, 81° 58.585' W, in 40 feet of water, with 15 feet of relief. Two details in the records don't match. The county logs the material as 250 tons, not the 300 in the news report, and dates its entry 4/27/2026, three days after the City's deployment date. Either way, it's a published coordinate. For anyone who runs a boat out of Naples Bay, a piece of the old pier is now a reef with a GPS fix.
The pier being built on the beach and the reef offshore come from the same decision. After more than a century of repairs, the City chose to rebuild with fewer, stronger pieces and to sink the old ones where they can serve as reef. The next City milestone to watch for is the end of the concrete pours, since the City plans to start laying the Ipe decking after that.
Darlene Roddy and the Roddy Luxury Group follow projects like the pier because they shape daily life in Old Naples. If you'd like to talk about the blocks around 12th Avenue South while the work goes on, or what the pier's return may mean for them, we're glad to share what we know. Contact Us.
