- A new boardwalk connecting Bayshore Drive to Sugden Park in East Naples opened after more than two decades of planning.
- The project was spearheaded by the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board.
- Funded by the CRA, the boardwalk cost about $3 million and was built on land purchased years ago for nearly $5.4 million.
- The boardwalk is considered a signature project that prevents overdevelopment while improving community connectivity.
Maurice Gutierrez didn’t have a gray hair when he first heard of a proposal to build a connecting boardwalk to Sugden Regional Park in East Naples.
As Collier County cut the ribbon on the long-awaited Bayshore Boardwalk on Feb. 26, a silver-haired Gutierrez celebrated the feat — a feat that took more than two decades to achieve.
For more than 20 years, Gutierrez has sat on the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board, which spearheaded the project. For much of his time on the board, he’s served as its chairman…