"Our location gives us the opportunity to contribute to improving our aquatic neighborhood and giving back to the GSAC community." Candice Lopez, director of marketing for The Village Shops on Venetian Bay, said that to the Gulf Shore Association of Condominiums in April 2024, after the Village finished an artificial reef around its waterfront.
Two and a half years later, the stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard North just south of the Village is up next. The City of Naples has opened bids to replace roughly 1,500 feet of seawall there. The city's bid answers include one line that shapes the whole project: no work may be done from the water. The privately funded reef has already settled in along the Village's bay edge. Over the next year, the change along this part of Venetian Bay will happen on the land side, where people walk, park and turn into their driveways.
What 215 Reef Balls Are Doing Under the Railings
The reef was the idea of Village owner Jeff Tayon. According to Lopez, it took more than two years to build and cost Tayon more than $2.5 million. The materials are bigger than most people would guess from the railing. Crews placed 4,300 cubic yards of riprap and dropped 215 reef balls into the bay along the seawall that wraps around the Village.
The two materials do different jobs. The riprap blocks erosion and gives plants and crustaceans a place to grow. The reef balls are porous, with holes that let water flow through, and algae, oysters, barnacles and coral attach to their rough surfaces. Lopez described the food chain that follows. Algae feeds crustaceans and small fish, small fish draw larger fish, and larger fish draw dolphins.
The Village's own September 17, 2026 update says the effect showed up "very rapidly" after installation. It lists more than 50 underwater lights along the perimeter and describes schools of fish gathering regularly, dolphins moving through the bay and manatees occasionally passing the restaurants. GSAC's 2024 piece put it more simply. The lights make for night-time fish viewing that is "particularly entertaining" for children and grandchildren at dinner. None of these accounts names the species, so the honest answer to "what fish is that?" is still whatever you can see in the light.
That abundance is not an invitation to bring a rod. A City of Naples ordinance adopted on October 2, 2013 bans fishing from the Venetian Village docks without the owner's permission and bars charter or other commercial fishing there.
Where the Private Edge Ends and the City's Begins
The city's Phase 2 project starts exactly where the reef story stops. GSAC board member Stan Karpf wrote in February 2026 that the replacement begins at the Village's southern property line and runs about 1,510 linear feet south. The city's solicitation, ITB 26-034, describes the work as seawall replacement and upland restoration on the east side of Gulf Shore Boulevard North between 4000 and 4200 GSBN, with a listed budget of $4.5 million.
This request goes back a long way. GSAC asked Naples City Council to repair or replace the wall on May 8, 2018, after Hurricane Irma damaged it. The city later decided that a full replacement built to modern standards was the right fix. Stantec Consulting Services handled design and permitting, and a $3.75 million state grant covers a large share of the cost.
The first phase offers the closest benchmark on this same road.
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | From 4500 GSBN, north | Village southern property line, south |
| Length | About 700 feet | About 1,500 feet |
| Contractor | Kelly Brothers, Inc. | Not yet awarded |
| Contract or bid | $2,099,995.31, awarded Sept. 7, 2022 | Lowest of seven bids, $3,505,599.25, informational only |
| Finish | Summer 2023 | GSAC forecast of Fall 2027 |
Phase 2 is a little over twice as long as Phase 1. The lowest bid comes to about 1.7 times the Phase 1 contract, and that bid also covers the upland restoration. On timing, the city's March 2023 update expected Phase 1 to reach substantial completion on May 26, 2023. GSAC later reported that the first 700 feet were finished that summer. That works out to roughly three seasons from award to finish, which fits GSAC's 10 to 12 month estimate for the longer second phase.
Why the Bay Itself Stays Out of It
A bidder asked the city whether crews could demolish the old wall and drive the new sheet pile from barges and workboats on the water. The city's written answer: "No waterside activities shall be conducted as part of these work efforts." The project "has not been permitted to perform any work from the waterside."
So every truck, crane and pile of material for those 1,500 feet will work from the boulevard side. The bid schedule shows what that side gets in return. It includes removing and replacing sidewalk, plus curb work, pavement, drainage and landscaping. GSAC's February post also mentioned new parking areas and warned of possible temporary lane adjustments or changes to access. No detailed closure plan has been published yet. That means no public schedule for sidewalk detours, lane closures or staging areas.
For owners whose boats sit along this wall, the contract protects them. In another answer, the city said the contractor may choose its own method for demolition and stabilization, with one condition. Access to the private docks next to the seawall "shall be maintained throughout construction." The bid schedule also prices temporary access to boat lifts for nine months. That is the clearest indication so far of how long crews expect to be next to the docks.
Where the Schedule Stands This Week
GSAC's February timeline has already slipped once. Here is the order of events in the public record:
- February 25, 2026. GSAC forecast contractor selection in spring 2026, construction starting in fall 2026, and a 10 to 12 month build.
- August 5, 2026. The city issued ITB 26-034.
- September 9, 2026. Seven bids were opened. Infinite Construction, LLC submitted the lowest total, but the tabulation is marked "for information purposes only."
- October 7, 2026. The posted City Council agenda does not include a seawall contract award.
Until council awards a contract, nobody has named a builder, set a final price or announced a start date. A fall 2026 start is still GSAC's forecast, not a city announcement. Work hours appear on page 57 of the ITB and will apply to whoever wins the contract.
Naples has rebuilt habitat in the water before. The city's Naples Bay oyster reef program finished 23 reefs at Site 1 in May 2019 and built Site 3 between May 2019 and December 2020. The Venetian Bay seawall is a different kind of project. It is a structural replacement whose permits keep it out of the water.
An Evening on the Finished End
The northern end of this shoreline is already done, and the Village's railings sit just past where the city's work zone begins. The Village's May 2026 directory lists six waterfront restaurants: Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar, Fish, M Waterfront Grille, MiraMare Ristorante, T-Michaels Steak & Lobster and The Village Pub. It also lists Ben & Jerry's and Black Letter Coffee + Café for something more casual. Black Letter's fall menu, announced October 1, includes an Apple Pie Latte, a Caramel Scotch Latte, Autumn Leaf Tea, Pumpkin Cider and a Pumpkin Spice Latte.
The next big night on the bay is Holiday on the Bay, scheduled for December 12, 2026. It will have Santa photos, carolers, holiday lights along the waterfront and a tree gathering at 6 p.m. That evening, the underwater lights will be shining on the same reef balls Tayon's crews placed, and the stretch south of the Village will be waiting for its contractor or just getting started.
If you live along Gulf Shore Boulevard North and want to know how a year of seawall work could affect your access, your dock or a planned sale, The Whitcomb Group follows this shoreline closely and can walk you through what has been decided and what is still open. Contact Us.
