Your guide to Collier County neighborhoods: Naples to Vanderbilt Beach

Bayfront

Located at the crossroads of U.S. 41 and Goodlette-Frank Road.

Residents of Bayfront dine at some of Naples' finest restaurants and browse through upscale boutiques and art galleries-without venturing far from home. Painted in rich Mediterranean hues, this condominium community offers four floors of luxury residences above retail space. Old Naples, Fifth Avenue South and Tin City are within walking distance-via a lighted walkway under the Gordon River Bridge. Homes, some with marina views, range from 850 to 2,500 square feet and are priced from $500,000 to $1.3 million. Resident-only amenities include a heated pool, clubhouse, fitness center, tennis courts, on-site boat slips and preferred rates at many area golf courses.

Coquina Sands, Moorings, Park Shore

Stretching north from the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club to Pelican Bay with the Gulf and U.S. 41 as the western and eastern boundaries.

Most real estate offices group these three neighborhoods together. Coquina Sands, the smallest of the three and directly north of the golf course, has winding streets lined with ficus, banyan and palm trees. It's also the closest of the three to the Fifth Avenue shopping district, reflected in its higher prices. Established by Milton Link in the 1960s, Coquina Sands has many homes with waterfront views-along Hurricane Bay, Compass Cove, Outer Doctors Bay and Moorings Bay-and vistas of the quiet fairways and greens of Moorings Country Club. Buyers will find 1970s-era homes as well as newer ones.

Recent listings in Coquina Sands start in the mid-$800,00s for a three-bedroom, two-bath 1950s home, jump right into the $1.5 million range and top out at $4.4 million. Condos are more affordable, priced from about the high $200,000s for a two-bedroom, two-bath home with just 900 square feet of living space to nearly $3 million for a three-bedroom, three-bath unit with nearly 4,000 square feet. Prices, of course, depend on water frontage. Almost any single-family home under $1 million is likely a teardown, says Gallus.

Prices in the Moorings, just north of Orchid Drive, parallel those of Coquina, although its location farther north brings prices down slightly and increases the number of buying opportunities for homes under $1 million. Recent listings included older 1970s homes priced from $715,000 to newer $5 million homes-a 5,900-square-foot under-construction home, with mile-long views to Venetian Village, was priced at $4.99 million in late 2004. The Moorings is Naples' largest subdivision, with more than 4,000 residents, 960 acres and 840 homes and apartments. The newest offering: the Villas of Fairway Terrace, a 13-villa project being built by Boran Craig Barber Homes one block north of Harbour Drive. "It took two-and-one-half years to piece together nine pieces of property," says Mark Maran, a Premier Properties agent who's selling the project. "This is ideal for people who don't want a gated community or golf course, but want the ambience and proximity to downtown Naples."

Anchor Rode Drive serves as the dividing line between the Moorings and Park Shore, which extends north to Seagate Drive and west to include Gulf-front and Venetian Bay properties along Gulf Shore Boulevard North. Property is more readily available here, especially condominiums, which line the skyline along Gulf Shore Boulevard North and overlook the Gulf of Mexico and various inland bays-Venetian, Inner Doctors, Outer Doctors and Moorings. The Lutgert Companies, which built many of these high-rises, recently announced plans for its grand finale, the 65-unit Aria. Park Shore prices are just as diverse as the housing opportunities, from $259,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath Hidden Lakes Villas home to $9.1 million for a four-bedroom, six-bath, 9,100-square-foot condominium in Le Rivage. "There's something for everyone, whether you want bay or Gulf views, city views or morning views" says Case.

Single-family homes range from $435,000 for an off-water home to $9.97 million for an 1987 estate home offering Venetian Village views, three bedrooms, seven baths and more than 17,000 total square feet, including 9,100 square feet of outdoor areas and a wrap-around dock. Off-water homes, however, do enjoy beach access and the 1.25-mile lighted Park Shore Prom-enade, a private beachfront walkway-courtesy of homeowners' associations, which charge nominal fees.

Lake Park

Located on the east side of U.S. 41 directly across from Coquina Sands.

Branches of older trees create a tangled canopy of greenery above narrow two-lane streets-some with traffic-controlling turnabouts-dotted by houses built at mid-century. Lake Park is located on the east side of U.S. 41 directly across from Coquina Sands. Residents enjoy proximity to Old Naples and the Coastland Center shopping mall and Fleischmann Park on the northern boundaries of the neighborhood. Home listings are few, with just three for-sale signs posted in the neighborhood as of late 2004: $389,900 for a 1,420-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath home built in 1960 to nearly $500,000 for a 1958 home, offering four bedrooms, three baths, nearly 2,300 square feet and a large back yard.

Naples Cay

Located between Outer Clam Bay to the north, Park Shore to the south, the Gulf to the west and a canal to the east.

This high-rise condo community enjoys 33 acres of preserves and the white-sand beach of Clam Bay. Within walking distance of the Philharmonic Center and Waterside Shops, the Cay includes condominiums and homes priced from around $1 million to $11 million (an 11,698-square-foot condo in The Seasons). Nearly 300 condo homes are available in Naples Cay-all built since 1990.

Naples Manor

Located on the east side of the East Trail-the southern leg of the Tamiami Trail through Naples- Rattlesnake Hammock and Royal Palm Country Club to the north and Hardee Street to the east.

Naples Park residents voted down a proposed community-wide development plan, but that hasn't prevented real estate prices from taking off, says George Montes, owner and broker of Living Concept Realty Group and a former Park resident. The 22-by-four-block neighborhood of 3,000 homes and 10,000 residents is seeing major leaps in property prices, thanks to investors and resident-buyers. Homes that sold for just $200,000 a couple of years ago are now pushing $300,000 and are hard to come by. Montes knew of just three in late 2004 priced under $300,000. While investors see a tidy profit to be made in Naples Park, buyers, many of them families, like its proximity to the beach (20 minutes by bike or foot) and its relative affordability

"One weekend I had three different bids for three different new homes," says Montes, who predicts "in five years, you won't be able to touch anything for $400,000." Newer, more modern homes are also available, priced just shy of $800,000 and located on bigger lots along premium streets like Vanderbilt Drive. Some, including one under construction, are priced above $1 million. Nearby amenities include beach accesses, shopping and restaurants, a library and a public park with racquetball facilities, a jogging path and tennis. Boaters can keep their vessels in their garage and launch them at the nearby Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area.

Pelican Bay

Bounded by Seagate Drive to the south, the Gulf of Mexico to the west, U.S. 41 to the east and Vanderbilt Beach Road to the north.

A $23 million estate in The Strand, a Gulf-front gated community within the gated community of Bay Colony, was one of the highest-priced listings in Collier County in late 2004. The four-story beachfront home, with nearly 16,000 square feet of living space, a 16,000-bottle wine cellar, gourmet and commercial kitchens, cherry and teak floors, gold-leaf trim and walk-in humidor, would have seemed an unlikely proposition some 30 years ago, when plans were first announced for Pelican Bay, home to this Bay Colony

dream house. Once located a little off the beaten bath, Pelican Bay is now flanked by luxurious resorts (the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, and the Registry Resort), commercial development and the Waterside Shops fronting U.S. 41. Patrons of the arts will enjoy the proximity to the Naples Philharmonic Center and its accompanying Naples Art Museum, while homebuyers will discover ample opportunities within Pelican Bay's 65 neighborhoods of single-family homes, villas, garden apartments and high-rise condominiums, with amenities that include three miles of beachfront, 40 acres of designated parks and nature trails, and the Club at Pelican Bay, a country club offering 27 holes of golf and dining.

Villas in Pelican Bay are priced from the $795,000 to $2.49 million. Condos, found along condo row, include older and newer homes, starting around $425,000 and jumping close to $8.7 million for a two-story, six-bedroom Trieste model. Single-family homes in Pelican Bay start above $1 million.

Pine Ridge

Across U.S. 41 from Pelican Bay, bordered by Pine Ridge Road, U.S. 41, Goodlette-Frank and Vanderbilt Beach roads.

Pine trees, lakes and heavily wooded lots define this transitional 1960s-era neighborhood, where buyers will find everything from older homes-some still occupied by the original owners-to newer and larger million-dollar homes. Larger lots provide plenty of room for guesthouses, stables and horses. "Pine Ridge is the only place from here to Tampa where you can get a homesite of that size so close to the beach," says Roorda. "It's solid gold in terms of location and value."

Buyers will typically find the best buys along Trail Boulevard, the main road that fronts Tamiami Trail, though there was no property on the market in late 2004, according to Premier Properties' Susan Black. Entry-level prices, recently in the high-$500,000s, were being dictated by availability in the fall and priced just under $1 million to start. Lot prices have also gone up, with starting prices around $800,000 to $3 million. Homes clustered around Pine Ridge's seven lakes are also difficult to find, and naturally more expensive.

Properties that border Goodlette-Frank Road allow agricultural uses and are sized two acres and larger. Condos, priced from about $150,000 (up from $79,000 just a few years ago) to the $200,000s, are found at the north end of the neighborhood. "What people like about Pine Ridge is the voluntary homeowners' association," says Black. "Pine Ridge is close to shopping, it's close to the beach and is a great family neighborhood. A lot of young, professional families have moved in during the last 10 to 15 years. It's more of a full-time neighborhood, although there are a few seasonal residents."

Royal Harbor

Bounded by Haldeman Creek to the south, Naples Bay to the west and Tamiami Trail to the north and east.

Naples Bay separates Port Royal from Royal Harbor, a triangular neighborhood where all 419 single-family homes and homesites sit on water and have direct Gulf access. Premier Properties' Isabelle Edwards, herself a resident for more than a decade, says that the place remains one of the few affordable boating communities in Naples, and inventory is down. Homes built in the mid-1960s, when the neighborhood was in its infancy, are now commanding close to $1 million for a two-bedroom, two-bath structure that may, or may not, be a teardown. That represents a $300,000 increase in recent years, according to Edwards. Current pricing runs about $4.32 million with lots selling at around $1 million. "My neighbors tell me you could buy lots for $8,000 at one time," says Edwards.

"Royal Harbor is a wonderful waterfront community," she adds. "It's accessible, with no bridges, transportation is easy, and shopping and the beaches are right down on Fifth Avenue."

Vanderbilt Beach

Extending north along Gulfshore Drive from Vanderbilt Beach to Bluebill Avenue.

High-rise condominiums with views of the Gulf and Sanibel Island to the north are scattered among the upscale resorts, boutique hotels, restaurants and marinas along Gulfshore Drive (not to be confused with similarly named Gulf Shore Boulevard to the south), while single-family homes line canals, bays and the beach of Vanderbilt Beach Estates to the east.

Most of the condos are older, built in the early 1990s for retirees who didn't want a whole lot of square footage or many upgrades, according to Carolyn Newland, office manager of Bluebill Realty. Available high-rise homes range from 800-square-foot efficiency units to 3,000-square-foot homes. Three bedrooms are a rarity. Beachside units range from $700,000 to nearly $2 million in the new 15-unit Vanderbilt Beachcomber, while those on the bay side are a little less pricey, around $300,000 to $700,000.