On October 7, Shoreline Foundation Inc. drove the last of the 193 reinforced-concrete pilings for the new Naples Pier. That puts the city's reopening target of July 2027 about nine months out. It also means this winter is the last full season Old Naples spends without the Pier.

The things the Pier did for the beach at 12th Avenue South now happen in other places. Walkers and swimmers come in one block north or south. The restrooms moved with them. Pieces of the old structure now sit on the Gulf floor 10 miles out. And with no licensed pier to stand on, anglers fall back on whatever license rules apply to them personally.

The Beach Access Moved One Block Each Way

According to the City of Naples project page, the Pier is closed for the whole project. So are its stairs, restrooms and showers, and 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South. The city set up pedestrian bypasses at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends, says they will stay open through the project, and put restrooms at both.

Parking at the Pier lot, on the corner of 12th Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard South, is limited. The western third is open to the public, and the eastern two-thirds is closed for construction activities. The city's Naples Pier park page says beach parking takes either a permit or pay-by-space all year, so the slow season doesn't change the rules.

City residents can get a free annual beach parking permit with proof of city residency. A valid permit covers free parking in metered spaces and permit-designated spaces at both City and County beaches. Without a permit, the city's beach parking information page lists the standard metered rate at $5 an hour, with a $2.50 minimum.

The two bypass beach ends follow different rules on that city list. The 100 and 200 blocks of Broad Avenue South are metered, and 13th Avenue South and its 100-block access are listed as visitor-metered. A separate entry for a Broad Avenue South beach end also appears among the permit-only accesses. On Broad Avenue, the posted sign at each access is the rule that applies to that spot.

The Old Structure Moved Ten Miles Offshore

Before anything new could go in, the old Pier had to come out. The city lists demolition as finished on April 13, 2026. Eleven days later, on April 24, 59 concrete pilings were placed at Wasmer Reef, expanding an artificial reef first built in 2015.

The Naples Daily News reported on May 1 that the salvaged pilings weigh 300 tons and sit about 10 miles offshore of Gordon Pass in the Gulf. Collier County's reef location table puts the Wasmer Reef sites in about 40 to 41 feet of water, at roughly 26°1.85′ to 26°1.98′ N and 81°58.45′ to 81°58.61′ W. Those numbers describe the reef's existing deployment sites. The county hasn't published separate coordinates for the April piling drop.

The county's Coastal Zone Management Department runs the artificial reef program and describes the reefs as supporting recreational fishing, charter fishing and diving. At 10 miles out and 40 feet down, Wasmer is a boat trip. For anyone with a hull and a dive flag, though, the old Naples Pier is still there to visit this season, in a new form.

The Pier License Doesn't Cover Anyone This Season

The closure also takes away the Pier's fishing license coverage. A 2013 Naples Daily News fishing guide listed the Naples Pier among the larger local piers that offered anglers a blanket license. With the Pier closed, nobody is standing on a licensed pier at 12th Avenue South.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's shoreline fishing page sets out how the rules work. Florida residents who saltwater fish only from land, or from a structure attached to land, can get a no-cost resident shoreline fishing license. That license doesn't cover fishing from a boat, or from an island reached by boat. Residents who already hold a recreational saltwater license, or any license that includes saltwater privileges, don't need the separate shoreline license. Nonresidents can't get the shoreline license. They need a 3-day, 7-day or annual nonresident saltwater license unless a charter or pier license covers them.

So a seasonal visitor who used to cast from the Pier without buying a license is in a different position this winter. So is a houseguest from the Midwest who wants to fish off the beach. This is general information, not legal advice. Anyone unsure which license applies to them should check directly with FWC.

The Milestones Left to Watch From the Sand

Construction started on January 6, 2026, the day after a public groundbreaking at the Pier. Work has moved quickly since then, and the city credits a calm summer for keeping the pace. The rest of the city's timeline:

1. June 17, 2026. Crews began building a trestle along the south side so work can continue when weather sends the offshore barges in for shelter.
2. June 26, 2026. First concrete pour for the bents, about 20 cubic yards of the roughly 602 the whole project needs.
3. July 24, 2026. Third pour finished, about 200 cubic yards in place, and two-thirds of the new decking delivered.
4. September 18, 2026. Mid-pavilion pour finished, putting the project past half of all the concrete it needs.
5. October 7, 2026. Last of the 193 pilings driven.
6. Early 2027. Shoreline Foundation expects to finish all structural work, then start installing the Ipe decking and structures.
7. July 2027. The city's reopening target.

Ipe, pronounced "ee-pay," is a tropical hardwood the city picked for its durability and resistance to rot. The decking is the stage where the structure starts to look like a pier again from the sand. The city gives July 2027 as a month, not a date, and it's a schedule projection.

What Comes Back Is Built for a Different Storm

The city's history of the Pier explains why this rebuild is so heavy. The Pier dates to 1888 and has been rebuilt after storms in 1910, 1926, 1944 and 1960. A renovation in 2015 was followed by Hurricane Irma damage two years later. When Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022, about 140 feet of the Pier went to the Gulf floor, including the end shelter and more than 30 pilings.

The new design is built for that kind of storm:

• Pilings grow from 14 inches square to 18 inches square, which the city describes as a 65 percent boost. They come in 70-, 85- and 100-foot lengths, all longer than the longest piles in the old Pier.
• Height goes up three feet above the water, which the larger piles made possible.
• Concrete is nearly three times what the old Pier had, to give the concrete portion a better chance of surviving a severe hurricane.
• Fewer piles, spaced farther apart, were chosen to reduce shoreline impacts and erosion.

The middle of the Pier will also work differently. State and federal rules barred rebuilding the old mid-pier concession, so City Council approved portable food and beverage carts at the mid-pavilion instead. Council also approved a small Naples Police and Beach Patrol substation on the Pier. Anyone who remembers grabbing a snack halfway out will find a cart there instead of a counter.

A Few Blocks Inland, the Calendar Keeps Going

The Pier's absence doesn't change the Old Naples calendar a few blocks east at Cambier Park. Fifth Avenue South's Halloween Spooktacular runs October 31 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Cambier Park, with family activities, live music, a costume contest and games. Evening on Fifth follows from 5 to 8 p.m. On November 14, the Fine Arts & Craft Show is back at Cambier Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From either event, it's a short drive to the 13th Avenue South beach end for sunset.

The Dom and Judie Team at Dominick Clarizio works in Old Naples all year, and we keep up with what's changing along Gulf Shore Boulevard as closely as we track what sells there. If you own near the Pier and want to know how the rebuild might affect your property's value between now and July 2027, get your instant home valuation or schedule a free consultation.