Mercato Uptown is the New Address for Luxury Real Estate

My excitement seems to build a bit more each time I drive down Vanderbilt Beach Road and catch a glimpse of the new Mercato shopping center. As a real estate professional my interest is obvious, but my enthusiasm also comes from an understanding of what this shopping center will mean to our Naples Florida community.

Here in Southwest Florida, and throughout the state of Florida, land is at a premium. The Mercato project was created by one of the founding developers of Parkshore Beach in Naples Florida, and is situated on 53 acres of prime real estate just 1.5 miles from the LaPlaya Beach. This is a golden opportunity and may not happen again for a long time, if ever.

The largest store in the Mercato shopping center, and the most highly anticipated arrival is Whole Foods. Whole Foods is the world’s largest organic and natural food store, and their involvement in the project assured the participation of other fabulous stores to follow. Are you familiar with the Whole Foods brand? What do you think about the addition of a Whole Foods store to our Naples Florida community?

Residency in the Mercato is limited to the luxury condominiums, The Strada, which will be situated over the commercial use units on the bottom. This idea is new for Naples Florida, although it has been popular in other parts of the country, like Vail, CO and Lake Tahoe, CA for awhile. Multi-use real estate complex designs like this one merge residential and commercial areas, encouraging inhabitants to form close-knit communities. Mercato will provide Naples residents, visitors, and occupants with unparalled access to shopping, dining, and other lifestyle accents without their ever leaving its parameter. As a resident of Naples Florida, what aspects of this project excite you the most? What do you think about the trend of mixed development real estate?