Fifty-nine concrete pilings that held up the Naples Pier now lie on the Gulf floor at Wasmer Reef, about 10 miles offshore of Gordon Pass. They weigh more than 300 tons together. They went down on April 24, 2026, eleven days after crews finished demolishing the old pier.
Back at 12th Avenue South, the replacement is a construction site behind fencing. The City of Naples still has it scheduled to reopen in July 2027.
For Aqualane Shores, that splits the pier in two for the whole 2026–27 season. The old one is now a reef past the inlet boats use to leave Naples Bay. The new one stays closed until well after the season ends. Anyone who used the pier as a morning walk, a fishing spot or the place to take guests at sunset has to look elsewhere this winter, either out at sea or a few blocks down the beach.
Ten Miles Out, the Eighth Reef at Wasmer
The City didn't send the old concrete to a landfill. It chose a reef deployment instead, working with Shoreline Foundation Inc., the pier rebuild contractor, and Turrell, Hall & Associates, the marine and environmental engineers. According to WINK News, the drop was approved under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and is the eighth reef built at the Wasmer site.
Wasmer Reef was started in 2015 by several agencies working together, paid for with BP oil spill grants and private donations. More than ten years on, WINK reports that the site supports corals, aquatic vegetation, invertebrates, bivalves and tunicates, which give food and shelter to young and adult fish. Dive teams checked the site before and after the April deployment to confirm it met the permit's conditions. The Naples Daily News described the pilings as the base of a new underwater ecosystem and a new site for divers.
If you plan a trip, keep the gap between the sources in mind. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's artificial reef inventory, dated March 6, 2026, lists earlier Wasmer Reef placements at about 26°01.9′ N, 81°58.5′ W, in 40 to 41 feet of water. That inventory came out before the April drop, so those coordinates are for the older Wasmer structures, and the pier pilings' own position isn't listed there.
What Is Rising at 12th Avenue South
Before the pier comes back, Aqualane Shores gets a reef. Inshore, the build is following a set order, and the City's project timeline shows where it stands this fall:
- January 5, 2026. The City held a public groundbreaking at the pier, and construction started the next day.
- April 13, 2026. Demolition of the old pier was finished.
- June 26, 2026. Crews made the first concrete pour for the bents. The full job needs about 602 cubic yards of concrete.
- July 24, 2026. Two-thirds of the new decking arrived on site.
- September 18, 2026. The mid-pavilion concrete pour put the project past half of the total concrete.
- October 7, 2026. Shoreline Foundation drove the last of 193 reinforced-concrete pilings.
The rest of the schedule explains why nothing changes on the beach this winter. Shoreline Foundation expects to finish all structural work by early 2027. Only then does the Ipe decking go on. Ipe is a tropical hardwood picked because it holds up well and resists rot. So the concrete has to be finished before any wood can be laid, which puts the July reopening after the season.
The new structure is heavier than the old one. The piles grew from 14 inches square to 18 inches square, which the City calls a 65 percent increase. They come in lengths of 70, 85 and 100 feet, all longer than the longest piles in the old pier. That extra strength let the City raise the deck three feet higher above the water, and the new pier uses almost three times as much poured concrete. The City awarded the construction contract to Shoreline Foundation for $23.5 million on October 2, 2024.
The Pier That Comes Back Will Work Differently
People who remember the old pier will notice one change right away. There won't be a permanent concession in the middle. The City says state and federal rules ruled out rebuilding the former mid-pier concession. City Council picked portable food and drink carts at the mid-pavilion, plus a small Naples Police and Beach Patrol substation.
Gulfshore Business reported on the final land-side design, which Council approved on March 4. It includes public restrooms, a family restroom, beach patrol and police space, and pier storage. The same report said an underwater camera is planned so visitors can see marine life from the pier.
The design team is Turrell, Hall & Associates with MHK Architecture. The same engineering group that oversaw the reef drop is now handling construction engineering and inspection for the rebuild. The old structure and the new one went through the same hands.
The City's history puts the timing in context. The pier dates to 1888, has drawn more than a million visitors a year, and has been rebuilt after storms in 1910, 1926, 1944 and 1960. Some generations of Naples residents have gone a season without it before. This is the first time the old pier has stayed close by as a reef while the new one goes up.
The Beach Ends That Carry This Season
On land, the pier closure takes out more than the walk over the water. The pier, its stairs, restrooms and showers are all closed, along with 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South. Only the western third of the pier parking lot at 12th Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard South is open to the public. The other two-thirds are closed for construction.
The City set up pedestrian bypasses on either side, at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends. Both are staying open for the whole project, and both have restrooms. A City ordinance describes the Aqualane Shores canal area as running from 14th Avenue South to Galleon Drive. That puts the 13th Avenue South bypass on the neighborhood's northern edge.
Farther south, the City's beach access status page lists these accesses as open right now:
- 13th Avenue South and Broad Avenue South. Open, with restrooms. These are the two pier bypasses.
- 14th through 18th Avenues South. Open.
- 21st Avenue South. Open. The City has a reconstruction planned here for the future.
- 1900 Gulf Shore Boulevard South and 2100 Gordon Drive South. Open.
- 32nd Avenue South. Open. A seawall project is listed as pending.
- 33rd Avenue South and 3590 Gordon Drive. Open.
Parking rules change along the way. The City's beach parking page lists 14th Avenue South as a metered visitor access. It lists 15th through 18th Avenues South and 32nd and 33rd Avenues South as resident-permit only. Beach meters cost $5 an hour, with a $2.50 minimum. City residents can get a free annual beach permit. It's good at both City and County beaches and covers metered spaces and beach ends. With most of the pier lot fenced off, that permit is the easiest way to park at the south-end beach ends this winter.
The status page has no date on it, and it gives no dates for the 21st and 32nd Avenue projects. Check it before you head down a particular street.
A Season When the Pier Is a Boat Ride
The closure has already moved one tradition. The City's 2025 Fourth of July listing put the fireworks by the Naples Pier. For July 4, 2026, WGCU reported that pier construction moved the launch to a barge in the Gulf off 5th Avenue South, with viewing from City beaches. The schedule puts the 2027 reopening in the same month as next year's fireworks.
Until then, the pier exists in two places. From Aqualane Shores, both are close. The rebuild is a short walk north to the 13th Avenue South bypass, where you can watch the deck take shape, past the halfway mark on concrete and waiting for its Ipe. The original pilings are a run out through Gordon Pass to Wasmer Reef, about 10 miles offshore. That reef has been growing since 2015 and gained its eighth set of structures this spring. Of the two, only the reef is open to visitors this season.
For Aqualane Shores homeowners, a boat lift and a fast route out through Gordon Pass now come with a new trip, out to the original pier's pilings. If you're thinking about what that Gulf access is worth before the new pier opens in 2027, Chiodo Group can walk you through how waterfront homes in the neighborhood are priced right now. Start with an Instant Home Valuation.
