Collier County Fire and EMS Station 74 is expected to break ground this summer on the southeast corner of Desoto Boulevard and Golden Gate Boulevard in Golden Gate Estates. RENDERING BY SCHENKELSHULTZ ARCHITECTURE

Q: Do you know anything about the fire department on Golden Gate Boulevard and Desoto Boulevard that was supposed to be built?

— Amanda Darius, Golden Gate Estates

A: Collier County Fire and EMS Station 74 was authorized by the county to be built more than a year ago, but the project’s site development plan was just approved last month.

On April 28, Collier County advertised for construction bids for Station 74. A prebid meeting is set for Friday, May 13, and sealed bids will be accepted until June 1. Expect to see a groundbreaking this summer at 99 Desoto Blvd. S. in Golden Gate Estates.

The new first-responder station will be built on about 5.5 acres on the southeast corner of Desoto Boulevard and Golden Gate Boulevard. The slightly more than 14,000-square-foot building is designed for shifts of nine full-time employees, three each from EMS, fire control and the sheriff’s office. No administrative staff will work at this location.

Traffic signal installation is expected to be completed in mid-May at the intersection of Randall and Everglades boulevards in Golden Gate Estates. TIM ATEN / FLORIDA WEEKLY

The proposed building will have 10 connecting vehicle bays, five each on the east and west sides of the station. The new station also will have 12 bunk rooms, six restrooms, a kitchen, dining area, day room, fitness room, laundry room, storage spaces, offices and a lanai with outdoor seating, according to plans by SchenkelShultz Architecture in Fort Myers.

The proposed station will have single access drives off both boulevards with a nature preserve area on the southern and western edges of the property. A large dry retention area also is planned south of the building.

The proposed safety service station was greenlighted in order to improve response times in that rural area of the eastern Estates now served by a station about 7.5 miles away at 13th Street SW and Golden Gate Boulevard. The new facility is expected to cut response times to emergencies from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.

Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design plans to open its first showroom outside of the Midwest in the former space of Orchard Supply Hardware on U.S. 41 in Naples. COURTESY OF WALTER E. SMITHE FURNITURE

Q: When will the traffic lights be installed at the intersection of Everglades Boulevard and Randall? The construction has been done for a few weeks, turn lanes have not been marked, but lots of barrels are still up, no sign of any lights being installed and no construction for a while. Just another supply chain issue? And at Randall and 8th Street, is that going to be a stop light or stop sign?

— Deb Pignatiello, Golden Gate Estates

A: Traffic signal installation is expected to be completed in mid-May at the intersection of Randall and Everglades boulevards in Golden Gate Estates, the Collier County Transportation Engineering Division staff reports, so your wait should be over soon.

In addition to the signal installation, the county reports that this traffic operations project includes safety and capacity improvements such as adding turn lanes on all approaches as well as the milling and resurfacing of the existing pavement plus drainage work.

Nearly three miles west, a temporary traffic signal is under construction and expected to be completed in June at the intersection of Randall Boulevard and Eighth Street NE. Turn lanes to help improve safety were also recently created at this location near the fire tower at the Collier Forestry Station.

A permanent traffic signal is scheduled to replace the temporary light in late 2024 when the widening of Randall Boulevard is planned from Immokalee Road to Eighth Street, county staff reports. That road project, which is expected to take about a year to complete, includes widening Randall to four lanes and constructing a continuous flow lane eastbound from Immokalee Road at the Randall intersection. Randall actually will be widened to a sixlane footprint with a two-lane-wide median reserved for future expansion.

Transportation Engineering Division staff mentioned a third location in Golden Gate Estates where a traffic signal is in the works. Preliminary design is starting for a new signal planned at Everglades Boulevard and 43rd Avenue NE, north of Oil Well Road. That project, which is expected to begin construction in fiscal year 2023, also is proposed for turn lanes on all approaches, drainage work and pavement milling and resurfacing.

Q: Do you know what is happening at what was the Orchard Hardware store on U.S. 41 in Naples? The “for lease” sign has been taken down and a construction trailer is in the parking lot.

A: Chicago-based Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design will return a furniture showroom to that location that previously hosted Today’s Home Furnishings and Thomasville Home Furnishings before Orchard Supply Hardware opened there in 2016.

Orchard Supply lasted only two years in Naples because Lowe’s pulled the plug on the California-based boutique hardware store chain in 2018, closing all 99 stores. Through the liquidation process, the 34,000-square-foot freestanding property at 3790 Tamiami Trail was vacant for more than three years.

Walter E. Smithe, which operates 10 showrooms in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana, plans to begin construction this month to renovate the commercial building. The family owned Smithe plans to open its 11th store in early 2023.

Smithe’s first Florida location in Naples will showcase the company’s complete line of furniture and décor and provide clients with full-service design, something that Smithe is known for in Chicago. Clients are matched with designers who assist them in selecting furniture, accessories, fabrics and finishes that match their personal tastes and budget.

“Our clients have been asking us to open in Naples for years. We have been waiting for the right space to become available and found that in 3790 Tamiami,” said Walter E. Smithe III, president and CEO of the furniture concept. “Our family is excited to offer our level of quality and service to a new market.”

The business debuted in 1945 as Tone Appliances and Furniture on Chicago’s northwest side, pioneering the concept of custom-order upholstery, a service still provided by Smithe. ¦

— “Tim Aten Knows” is published each week in Naples Florida Weekly. Email questions to TimAtenKnows@floridaweekly.com. Follow @TimAten- Knows on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Our Hometown DMCA Notices Newspaper web site content management software and services