The building planned at 10025 Gulf Shore Drive covers 47,510 square feet. For anyone who walks Vanderbilt Beach, the more important number is 15. That is how many feet of sand, measured from the high-water line, the club's backers promised to leave open for the public. They made the promise at the October 2025 hearing where Collier County commissioners approved the project.
Construction fencing and signage now surround the site, just north of LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, where Bayview Avenue meets Gulf Shore Drive. Paraíso Beach Club is a large private building on one of North Naples' busiest public beaches. Its approval came with two limits that matter more to neighbors than the building does: an open strip of sand along the water, and no parking for members.
What Is Behind the Fence at 10025 Gulf Shore Drive
The site used to be two homes. Both houses were torn down, and the two lots were rezoned. Together they make a vacant 1.35-acre parcel with about 200 feet of Gulf shoreline, next to Vanderbilt Beach Access No. 4. In county records the project is two petitions, PL20240007340 for the rezoning and PL20240009700 for the conditional use. Both were on the commissioners' agenda for October 14, 2025, and you can look them up on the Collier County meeting portal.
| Detail | What has been reported |
|---|---|
| Address | 10025 Gulf Shore Drive, beside Vanderbilt Beach Access No. 4 |
| Site | About 1.35 acres, roughly 200 feet of Gulf frontage |
| Building | Three stories, 47,510 square feet, Mediterranean styling |
| Planned amenities | Dining venues, wellness facilities, resort-style pools, rooftop sun deck |
| Contractor | PCL Construction |
| Demolition began | June 2026 |
| Groundbreaking | July 15, 2026 |
| Expected completion | Fourth quarter of 2027 |
| Membership | Reported as capped at more than 600 members |
PCL's July 20 announcement says demolition started in June. That means work has been going on next to Access No. 4 for about five months by early November. In Gulfshore Business's coverage of the groundbreaking, the club's designers say the building is meant to look like a large house on the beach. Founder David Tingley told the crowd the idea began "nearly four years ago at my kitchen table."
The Fifteen Feet That Came Out of the Hearing
Public access to the sand decided this approval. Naples Press reported that commissioners received letters from residents worried that a members-only club could keep the public off that stretch of beach. Commission Chair Burt Saunders asked the applicant's land use attorney, Rich Yovanovich, to explain "in a half a nutshell" whether people would still be able to walk back and forth.
Yovanovich answered by offering to change the written condition, which had described the club's boundaries as running all the way to the Gulf. According to Naples Press, he said:
"We will retain a 15-foot sandy beach area between the high water line and we'll maintain a 15-foot sandy beach area from the high water line. That will allow the public to continue to walk up and down the beach."
He described Paraíso as similar to the exclusive clubs already on Vanderbilt Beach, saying it would not block the beach down to the water. Commissioners then approved the rezoning and conditional use unanimously. For anyone who walks the shoreline from Vanderbilt Beach Park north toward Delnor-Wiggins, this sets a firm expectation for 2027. A strip of open sand, at least 15 feet wide above the waterline, runs past the new club.
The hearing also showed how strongly some longtime beachgoers feel. In Naples Press's account, one longtime Vanderbilt Beach visitor counted three hotels, two beach clubs, two timeshares and many condos on the beach already. He argued that rows of lounge chairs, often empty, leave little room for everyday visitors. Saunders replied that anyone told to leave the public beach should contact the commissioners' offices. He said, "this board's very committed to making sure that the public has fully legal access to our beaches."
This post reports what was said at a public hearing. It is general information, not legal advice. For questions about beach access rights in a specific situation, the right contacts are Collier County and a qualified attorney.
A Club Built to Arrive by Shuttle
The second limit matters most on Gulf Shore Drive itself. A club with more than 600 members on a two-lot parcel would normally mean a parking lot, plus a line of cars turning in at Bayview Avenue. Paraíso was approved without one. Members and staff will come by shuttle, and the only on-site parking is for people with special-needs access. Gulfshore Business described the same shuttle-only arrangement in its coverage of the approval.
For public beachgoers, the main option is the garage and street parking at Vanderbilt Beach Park, 100 Vanderbilt Beach Road. Collier County Parks charges $10 to park without a resident beach parking permit, posts a live count of open garage spaces, and says in-season parking is best found before 10 a.m. The club was approved on the basis that members come by shuttle, not by car, so its plan does not rely on that garage.
A Timeline That Has Already Slipped Once
The timeline has already moved once. When commissioners approved the project in October 2025, Naples Press reported an opening in mid-2027. At the July 2026 groundbreaking, the target was completion in the fourth quarter of 2027. Tingley admitted at the ceremony that getting to that point took longer than he had expected. On the latest schedule, the fence beside Access No. 4 will stay up through this entire winter season and most of next year.
That means the site stays fenced through the holidays. The Ritz-Carlton Naples, at 280 Vanderbilt Beach Road, lists a Thanksgiving event on November 26. Its December calendar includes Teddy Bear Tea on December 12 and 13 and again December 18 through 22, Breakfast with Santa December 22 through 24, and a gingerbread house event on December 25. For a walk this season, here is the layout from south to north:
- Vanderbilt Beach Park and its garage at the end of Vanderbilt Beach Road, the main public parking.
- LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, directly south of the club site.
- The Paraíso site at 10025 Gulf Shore Drive, behind construction fencing.
- Vanderbilt Beach Access No. 4, where Bayview Avenue meets Gulf Shore Drive, just north of the site.
Once the club opens, the 15-foot strip promised at the hearing is the public's path along the shoreline in front of it.
If you live along Vanderbilt Beach and want to know how a project like Paraíso could affect your building, your street or your plans, The Whitcomb Group follows what is happening on Gulf Shore Drive and is happy to talk it through. Contact us.
