Tesla has proposed replacing Toys R Us in north Naples

The Model 3 sedan is on display in Tesla’s showroom in the Waterside Shops in Naples.

Q: Any information on what’s going on in the Toys R Us building at the airport and Pine Ridge? I heard from a Tesla dealer but it’s unconfirmed.

– Brian Konkel, Bonita Springs

A: Tesla’s R us? Development plans confirm that a Tesla sales and service center has been proposed to replace the former Toys R Us store on the edge of Bed Bath & Beyond Plaza on the northwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge streets in north Naples.

A state-of-the-art Tesla Service Plus concept for the luxury electric car maker would take up the entire 30,585 square meter store that the toy retailer vacated three years ago. Since then, the shop has only had a few temporary uses such as a Spirit Halloween shop.

The planned new Tesla Motors service center at 5305 Airport-Pulling Road N. would be just 3.2 km from the showroom that the Californian company opened in December 2016 in the Waterside Shops in Naples.

Tesla’s showroom on the northern edge of the Waterside Shops in Naples.

The new location would have more space to display at least four of Tesla’s all-electric cars, but the main difference is that local owners of the vehicles don’t have to travel far for service and repairs. Of the eleven service centers Tesla operates in Florida, the closest to Naples opened last fall near Colonial Drive and Interstate 75 in Fort Myers.

Most of the proposed space in Naples is reserved for car maintenance, according to plans by Ohio-based architecture and engineering firm WD Partners. The floor plan and exterior view of the 25-year-old building remain essentially the same. The most notable changes to the structure are proposed in the northwest corner, where the entrance is still outlined in rainbow-colored tiles, the only remaining reminder of the Toys R Us store there.

Plans show the sales area at the existing public entrance to the building on this corner. The colorful tiles and part of the walls on the north and west sides of the building are to be removed in order to create a stylish new shop window for Tesla, which owns and operates all of its sales and service locations. Tesla has no dealers or franchises, and its sales reps do not operate on a traditional commission because most sales are made online.

Tesla’s showroom in the Waterside Shops in Naples offers charging stations for its electric cars.

Architectural plans outline every detail of the planned location in Naples. TESLA – in letters 4 to 6 feet high – is said to span the western corner of the building above a new folding glass door and shop window glazing that is outlined by a red metal portal that extends to the north side of the building. The outside corner of the building is opened to create an overhang and a modern architectural element. Tesla’s 6 foot tall “T” logo – said by CEO Elon Musk is a cross-section of the electric motor first designed by namesake and futurist Nikola Tesla – will adorn the north side, where a high-speed roller shutter will be added for the Service. Another roller shutter will be built on the west side of the building.

The Toys R Us store was vacated three years ago at 5305 Airport-Pulling Road N. in north Naples.

In addition to an exhibition room and a garage, the interior construction plans show rooms for a lounge, offices, a conference room, parts and storage, toilets as well as a break and changing room for the employees.

Parking spaces for charging electric vehicles will be set up at the northeast end of the building. The plans show seven wall connection points and four V3 compressor posts.

A Tesla consultant on duty at the Waterside showroom was unable to review the company’s plans for the new or existing showrooms in Naples. Tesla’s project and architecture managers could not be reached to comment on a construction schedule for the service center in Naples.

Benderson Development owns the 3 acre outparcel property that Tesla wants near one of the busiest intersections in Collier County. When asked about Tesla’s proposed lease, Brett Burgher, Benderson’s executive director of national leasing, said the company is not commenting on the plans for its real estate.

A look into the empty shop that housed Toys R Us in northern Naples for 20 years.

The regional developer has had a relationship with Tesla since at least 2014. Sarasota-based Benderson was the builder of the Mall at University Town Center, home of Tesla’s first showroom in southwest Florida.

Last October, a Benderson subsidiary formally requested a zoning confirmation letter from the Collier County’s Growth Administration Department to see if an electric car company would have an acceptable use to replenish the vacated Toys R Us business for auto sales, service, and car sales. repair without changing the approved existing site plan. A letter from the Zoning Services Division of Growth Management to the director of real estate development at Benderson replied that new and used vehicle dealerships and general automotive repair shops may be used in this heavily C-5 commercial zoning area, as determined by the county records emerges.

Hotel renovation

Q: What’s going on with the on-site restaurant at the DoubleTree Hotel? It has activity. It used to be Charlie Chiang’s, at 41 near the old tin mug.

– Jennifer East, Naples

A: Another restaurant is now not planned for the space Charlie Chiang’s Chinese restaurant occupied for 12 seasons before it finally closed three years ago at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples award-winning hotel. The hotel’s fitness center will be relocated to this area and some of the square meters will serve as meeting rooms, Ms. Robbins said.

In April, construction began on the first phase of an interior and exterior improvement project for the 12200 Tamiami Trail N. all-suite hotel in north Naples. All of the 101 suites at the three-story hotel are due to be renovated by September, Ms. Robbins said.

The hotel’s owner, Guest Services Inc., based in Virginia, is also planning building renovations to include 68 square feet of pool deck and 216 square feet of covered walkway, enhancing the existing sidewalk and landscaping, and showing other changes, the county plans show.

Further expansion plans in the next year could include another restaurant, Ms. Robbins said, but that’s not yet decided. |

Tim Aten Knows is published weekly in the Naples Florida Weekly. Mr. Aten is Senior Editor of Gulfshore Business Magazine. Email questions to TimAten-Knows@floridaweekly.com. Follow @ TimAtenKnows on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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