Whole Foods is the headline. The 622 homes are the story.
The short answer. A development called Vitano is planned on 82 acres at the southeast corner of Davis Boulevard and Santa Barbara Boulevard in East Naples. Whole Foods Market is the anchor, alongside roughly 86,904 square feet of retail and restaurants. It also includes 200 townhomes and 422 apartment units in four story buildings.
Across the street, McDonald’s, Wawa and AutoZone are planned separately.
If you own in East Naples, the grocery store is the part everyone will talk about and the housing is the part that actually changes your neighborhood. Here is what is in the file, where it stands, and what I would and would not do about it.
What exactly is Vitano?
An 82 acre master planned unit development on what is currently vacant land on that southeast corner.
The components, as proposed:
About 86,904 square feet of retail and restaurant space, anchored by Whole Foods Market. Tipsy Salonbar has also been named as joining.
200 townhomes.
422 units across four story apartment buildings.
That is 622 residential units on one corner, which in a county where new supply is the whole conversation is a more consequential number than the grocery store.
Where is it, exactly?
The southeast corner of Davis Boulevard and Santa Barbara Boulevard, in the 34104 area of East Naples.
That intersection is one of the busier crossings in East Naples. Davis runs east from the Tamiami Trail out toward Collier Boulevard, and Santa Barbara runs north toward Golden Gate. It is a corner a great many people already drive through daily without thinking about it.
It sits well inland of the beach and considerably closer to the Trail than anything in Golden Gate Estates, which puts it in the part of the county where a lot of the more attainable housing already is.
Where does it actually stand with the county?
This is the part most coverage leaves out, so here is the record rather than the summary.
The application is PL20250011692, a PUDA, which is a Planned Unit Development Amendment. The agent on the application is Margaret Emblidge of LJA Engineering.
A Neighborhood Information Meeting was held on Monday, May 11, 2026 at 5:30pm, at New Hope Ministries, Room 209, 7675 Davis Boulevard.
A Neighborhood Information Meeting is a required step, not an approval. It is where the applicant presents to nearby owners and residents before the petition moves through the county’s review process.
Reported timing is a construction start targeted for 2027, with roughly a twenty month timeline to retail opening after that.
So anyone picturing shopping there next spring should adjust. Realistically this is a 2028 and beyond proposition for the retail, and plans at this stage still change.
If you want to follow it yourself, the application number above is what to search at the county. That is the number that gets you the actual file rather than someone else’s description of it.
What was there before?
A detail I like, because it tells you how long this corner has been in play.
The project was previously known as Taormina Reserve MPUD, which is why the county records carry that name. And part of the property was formerly the site of a rock crushing operation that drew real objection locally.
Land that has been through a contested industrial use and a prior PUD before arriving at a grocery anchored mixed use plan is not unusual here, but it is worth knowing if you are the sort of buyer who wants to understand what a parcel has been before you care what it will be.
What else is planned nearby?
Across the street, separately from Vitano, McDonald’s, Wawa and AutoZone are planned.
Taken together, that corner is being converted from vacant and underused land into a commercial node with housing attached. That is a meaningful change in character for the immediate area, and it is the kind of thing that happens gradually and then seems to have happened all at once.
What does this mean if you already own nearby?
Three honest things, and they do not all point the same way.
Convenience genuinely improves. A full grocery anchor plus everyday retail within a short drive is a real quality of life change for the surrounding neighborhoods, and it is the thing people actually use.
Traffic at that intersection will change. Six hundred and twenty two homes and a retail center generate trips. Davis and Santa Barbara is already a working intersection. I would expect the county’s review to address capacity, and I would also expect the drive to feel different afterwards.
What it does to values is not something I am going to predict. The honest position is that proximity to good everyday retail is generally viewed favorably by buyers, and immediate adjacency to a large commercial build with four story buildings is a different thing from being a few streets away. Where your house sits relative to it matters more than the project existing.
Anyone telling you confidently what this does to your home’s value is guessing. What I can tell you is that it will be a question buyers ask, and having an accurate answer ready is worth more than a hopeful one.
What does it mean if you are buying in East Naples?
Mostly that you should ask better questions about what is approved around any property you are considering.
East Naples has been the part of the county absorbing a lot of the growth, and Vitano is one project among several moving through the pipeline. If you are buying here, the approved and pending development around your address is as relevant as the house itself, and it is public record.
What I would ask before writing an offer: what is approved or pending within a mile, what the road plans are for the corridor, and whether anything adjacent is zoned for something you would not want next door. None of that is hidden, and almost nobody checks it.
The wider road picture for the county is in the Naples road projects post, and the all-in monthly cost of owning in any part of the county is in the Naples salary guide.
Should you buy somewhere because of a planned development?
No, and this is the part I feel strongly about.
A planned project is a plan. Approvals get amended. Anchors change. Timelines slip, and in this market they slip routinely. A retail opening targeted for 2028 is a target, not a date you can bank on.
Buy the house, the location and the monthly number as they are today. If something good gets built nearby, that is upside. If you pay a premium today for an amenity that is years out and conditional, you have bought someone else’s optimism.
The same logic runs in reverse. Do not refuse a house you otherwise love because something is planned nearby, without first finding out what is actually approved, at what scale, and how far away.
Frequently asked questions
Is Whole Foods coming to East Naples?
Whole Foods Market is named as the anchor of Vitano, a planned 82 acre mixed use development at the southeast corner of Davis Boulevard and Santa Barbara Boulevard. Construction has been targeted to begin in 2027 with roughly a twenty month timeline to retail opening, so it is not imminent and plans at this stage can still change.
What is Vitano in Naples?
A proposed 82 acre master planned unit development in East Naples including roughly 86,904 square feet of retail and restaurant space anchored by Whole Foods Market, 200 townhomes, and 422 apartment units in four story buildings. Tipsy Salonbar has also been named among the tenants.
Where is the Vitano development?
At the southeast corner of Davis Boulevard and Santa Barbara Boulevard in East Naples, in the 34104 area, on land that is currently vacant.
How many homes will Vitano have?
622 residential units as proposed, made up of 200 townhomes and 422 apartment units in four story buildings.
What is the Vitano application number with Collier County?
PL20250011692, filed as a PUDA, meaning a Planned Unit Development Amendment. The agent on the application is Margaret Emblidge of LJA Engineering. A Neighborhood Information Meeting was held on Monday, May 11, 2026 at New Hope Ministries on Davis Boulevard.
Was Vitano called something else?
Yes. It was previously known as Taormina Reserve MPUD, which is why county records carry that name. Part of the property was formerly the site of a rock crushing operation.
What else is being built at Davis and Santa Barbara?
Across the street from Vitano, McDonald’s, Wawa and AutoZone are planned separately.
When will the Whole Foods in East Naples open?
No opening date has been published. Reported timing is a construction start targeted for 2027 followed by roughly twenty months to retail opening, which points to 2028 or later. Treat that as a target rather than a date.
Will Vitano affect my property value?
Nobody can tell you that honestly, and be wary of anyone who does. Proximity to everyday retail is generally viewed favorably by buyers, while immediate adjacency to a large commercial build with four story buildings is a different proposition from being several streets away. Where a property sits relative to the project matters more than the project existing.
How do I track a Collier County development near my home?
Search the application number at the county, which is the reliable way to reach the actual file rather than a description of it. Neighborhood Information Meetings are published in advance and are open to nearby owners and residents.
Where to go from here
If you own near Davis and Santa Barbara, look up PL20250011692 and read the file rather than the headlines. It is yours to read.
If you are buying anywhere in East Naples, make approved and pending development within a mile part of your diligence, the same way you would check the roof. It is public, it is quick, and it is the thing people wish they had done.
And if you want me to pull what is approved or pending around a specific address before you write an offer, call or text me at (239) 350-2356. On a corridor that is changing this fast, that search is worth more than another showing.
