A second luxury mixed-use tower will soon rise at Metropolitan Naples.
Construction will start on the tower, known as Aura, next week.
It will be built at the corner of Davis Boulevard and U.S. 41, next to Ascent, in Downtown Naples.
While Ascent is a luxury apartment community, with studios to penthouses, Aura is offering high-end condos for purchase, from $2 million to more than $7 million, in various sizes.
With Suffolk as the general contractor, the second tower is anticipated to be completed in 22 months, or a little less than two years.
Metropolitan Naples has been years in the making. At completion, it will have three 15-story buildings on a roughly five-acre site, transforming a high-profile corner, on the doorstep of downtown Naples.
The larger mixed-use project is the brainchild of Fred Pezeshkan and Jerry Starkey, both longtime local developers, who won the right to buy and develop the property from Collier County through a competitive bidding process.
Starkey and Pezeshkan, with Development Partners International, signed an agreement to purchase the site back in 2016.
The county has targeted the broader Bayshore/Gateway Triangle area for redevelopment since 2000 — or for more than 20 years.
In a statement via email, Pezeshkan said he’s thrilled to see construction begin on Aura.
“This project has been a work in progress for the last six years with zoning, architecture and permitting. I believe this is the start of a new era of development, which will extend the Fifth Avenue South area to the east creating an extension to our downtown Naples that will be bigger than people can envision today,” he said.
He added that he loves the challenge it takes to do such a large-scale development, and he’s excited to see the entire community come to fruition.
Located at 1925 Metropolitan Blvd., Aura will include 6,341 square feet of shops and restaurants at on the street level. The tower will have a total of 56 homes, with two and four bedrooms, many of them with a den.
Among the amenities: an infinity, or vanishing-edge, pool with downtown views, a state-of-the-art fitness center and yoga studio, and a sky lounge with a bar, on the rooftop level.
Other offerings will include resident lounges, a business center and conference room, an outdoor kitchen, and a golf putting green.
This week, Forman Capital, based in Palm Beach, on Florida’s east coast, announced it provided a $113.6 million construction loan for the tower.
“We are pleased to work with two of the most accomplished and respected residential developers in Naples on their latest project,” said Brett Forman, a founder of and partner in Forman Capital, in a statement. “Aura is in a prime location on Fifth Avenue with close proximity to the high-end boutiques and restaurants in the downtown district. It is a very unique residential building for this part of the city.”
Scott Mehlman, a partner in and the chief investment officer for Forman Capital, agreed. He said he believes Aura will be “a great success” in a market that commands premium pricing.
“Aura has few competitors in the market when it comes to location and pricing,” he said.
Pezeshkan and Starkey weren’t involved in the construction of the first tower, with the land for it spun off to a different partnership.
With 275 apartments, Ascent is a joint venture involving The Dolben Co., GFI Development LLC and SK2 Capital. According to that project’s website, the rentals will become available in January.
On apartments.com, rents are shown as ranging from $2,465 to $15,440 a month.
The third building at Metropolitan Naples will have more luxury condos, along with more retail and restaurants.
