City leaders to discuss rebuilding Naples City Dock

NAPLES, Fla.- Following a multimillion-dollar rebuild of the Naples Pier, the City of Naples is now looking at rebuilding another famous landmark, the City Dock.

The dock is home to 18 businesses, including Dalis Charters. Captain Garrett Drogue has worked for the company for two years and says the dock is the perfect location to attract customers.

“It’s just a nice, local area that people know and come visit,” said Drogue.

Recently, the dock has become rundown. The Harbormaster says it needs to be replaced, although, a lot of visitors haven’t noticed.

“They’re not bad at all,” said resident Carole Hartmann. “I don’t know why they would do that.”

But, it’s not the walkways of the dock that are bad, it’s what lies beneath. Some of the pilings are rotting and the dock itself shakes as you walk on it. Wolfgang Gohde, who vacations in Naples from Austria every year, says he’s okay with a rebuild as long as the city keeps the dock’s charm.

“This place here is unique for Naples,” said Gohde. “It’s well-known. So, I would just keep it in
shape, but other than that, leave it as it is.”

The cost to rebuild the dock would be almost $5 million, twice the cost of the pier. But, unlike the pier, no tax dollars would be used because the dock is self-sustaining. It pulls in $200,000 a year on slip rentals. Drogue tells WINK News, he hopes redoing the dock will make it even more popular.

“I think foot traffic will increase in the beginning at least and we’ll see how it works from
there,” said Drogue.

The Naples City Council is meeting on Wednesday to discuss the dock.