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Dean Park residents and city staff back plan to close Michigan Avenue for Parks & Rec and records storage project
Summary
City staff presented plans to convert two warehouses at 2801 Michigan Ave. into Parks & Recreation offices and consolidated city records storage, and proposed permanently closing Michigan Avenue at Palm to limit truck traffic; Dean Park residents voiced support, emphasizing safety and screening with heavy landscaping.
City staff asked the council for feedback on converting two warehouses at 2801 Michigan Avenue into a Parks & Recreation administrative building and consolidated records storage, a purchase the city made in January 2024. The plan calls for the south warehouse to house Parks & Rec offices and the north warehouse to be outfitted with high-density racks and forklift access for records currently stored across multiple facilities. City staff also proposed closing Michigan Avenue at Palm to block regular through traffic while leaving emergency and fire access available through a gate.
Residents of the Dean Park neighborhood testified at the workshop in support of the closure and the proposed landscape screening. Anne Martindale said the neighborhood had been consulted repeatedly and that, after meetings and emails, “pretty much everyone has thinks it's a good idea because it will radically curtail … the traffic that will is likely to occur when we have, let's see, 50, 60 parks department employees bringing their cars to the parking lot.” Staff noted closing Michigan Avenue would allow five additional parking spaces along Michigan and would add a small passive park of roughly 0.333 acres to the north of the records building; the project will also require a planned-unit-development modification and subsequent site and GMP review with additional public comment opportunities.
Council members asked staff to include low-impact development options for the new parking surface and to continue coordinating landscape details with the Dean Park neighborhood and potential partners such as the Naples Botanical Garden. Staff emphasized the gate at Palm would allow fire access and that the closure could be reversed if unforeseen traffic issues arise. No formal motion was recorded at the workshop; staff said they would return with PUD amendments, a GMP from the CMAR and additional refined landscaping and traffic details.
