"Stay tuned for opening announcements and events." That line comes from Waterside Shops' own notice that Anthropologie would close starting Monday, Oct. 19, while it moves into a new store near Sephora at 5475-1 Tamiami Trail N. The store hasn't closed for good. It's moving to a different part of the same shopping center, and over the past ten months that has happened again and again at the open-air center on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 North and Seagate Drive.
From Park Shore, Waterside is a short drive up Seagate. The center looks different this season. Much of what seems to be missing has moved, and each move left behind a storefront the next tenant was waiting for.
Every Move Started at a Corner
The chain began on the edges of the property. Gulfshore Business reported that after the former Nordstrom, Barnes & Noble and U.S. Bank buildings were demolished, plans were approved for RH, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn, and Eddie V's Prime Seafood "in standalone spots on three corners" of the center. The outlet called it The Forbes Company's most significant redevelopment of Waterside since the Michigan-based company bought the property more than two decades ago.
Two of those three corners are finished.
The former Barnes & Noble building. Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn reopened Jan. 23 in the renovated two-story building at 5377 Tamiami Trail N. Pottery Barn had closed its longtime store inside the mall earlier that month. Williams Sonoma's indoor store had been closed for about a year before that.
The former bank office. Eddie V's opened June 7 in a freestanding 9,991-square-foot restaurant at Seagate Drive and Myra Janco Daniels Boulevard, on the southwest corner of the property. It is built inside a heavily renovated former bank office. Gulfshore Business notes live jazz nightly in its V Lounge.
The former Nordstrom site. This corner is still under construction. More on it below.
The corner buildings matter for what happened next. Each tenant that moved out to a corner left behind a large indoor storefront along the mall's interior walkways. Waterside filled those spaces with brands that had been waiting for room.
Where the Old Spaces Went
The table below follows each vacancy to the store that replaced it, based on Gulfshore Business's summer report on the center and Waterside's own announcements.
| The store that left the spot | Where it went | What filled the old spot |
|---|---|---|
| Williams Sonoma | Former Barnes & Noble building, 5377 Tamiami Trail N. | Dior, in a 6,000-square-foot suite combined with smaller neighboring units |
| Pottery Barn | Same building as Williams Sonoma | Vuori and the new Anthropologie, which also takes the former Ann Taylor unit |
| Häagen-Dazs and L'Occitane | Both Waterside shops closed; the Häagen-Dazs franchisee still runs a separate shop at Coastland Center | LoveShackFancy, in the two units combined into one |
| Omega | A temporary space near True Food Kitchen for now | Van Cleef & Arpels is slated to move into Omega's former space |
| White House Black Market | Closed | Peter Millar |
Dior is a clear example. On June 11 the brand left its long-running store-within-a-store inside Saks Fifth Avenue for its own boutique, built partly in the space Williams Sonoma left when it moved to the corner. Brunello Cucinelli was also planned for the former Williams Sonoma space. Waterside's retailer page for Brunello Cucinelli now lists a phone number and store hours. Panerai watches and the clothier 120% Lino also moved across the mall to units between Santa Fe Café and Yamron Jewelers to make room for Dior.
Pottery Barn's old space took longer to fill, but it is now mostly in use. Vuori opened its 4,000-square-foot store Sept. 4 near Sephora, according to Gulfshore Business. The new Anthropologie next door is planned at 8,500 square feet. Anthropologie is leaving its large space on the northern edge of the mall, so that space will be the next vacancy in the chain.
The closings that freed up space included a restaurant. Brio Italian Grille closed April 12 after 20 years on the north end of Waterside. Its lease wasn't renewed so the space could go to another restaurant. That space is also part of the chain.
The Moves Still Underway
The rest of the chain is in progress this season. These are the dates as currently published:
- Anthropologie. Closed since Oct. 19. Waterside's store page says "Reopening Fall 2026" and gives no date.
- LoveShackFancy. The 1,356-square-foot suite on the mall's eastern edge, in the former Häagen-Dazs and L'Occitane units, is listed as "Coming Holiday 2026".
- Peter Millar and Piranesi. Gulfshore Business reported both as fall openings. Piranesi's fine jewelry store is going into a 781-square-foot unit across from Dior. Peter Millar is taking the 2,517-square-foot former White House Black Market.
- Omega, then Van Cleef & Arpels. Omega's move to a 1,848-square-foot unit near Santa Fe Café was reported for late 2026 or early 2027. Van Cleef & Arpels can't move into Omega's former space until that happens.
- Buck & Rider. Brio's 7,617-square-foot former space is behind construction barricades while it becomes a seafood restaurant from Hi Noon Hospitality. The opening date depends on the source. Buck & Rider's Naples page says late 2026. The Naples Daily News reported on Aug. 22 that it is targeting early 2027. Gulfshore Business's summer report also says early 2027.
- RH. The third corner is the largest project. Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond is building a nearly 30,000-square-foot RH complex where Nordstrom stood until it closed in 2020. According to Gulfshore Business, the plans call for six galleries with skylights connected by landscaped courtyards, built around a 174-seat RH restaurant and wine bar under a long glass atrium. RH has said it hopes to open near the end of this year. Waterside's RH page still says only "Coming Soon."
So between now and early 2027, expect a few more weekends of construction walls, temporary storefront signs and stores in new spots. Restaurants are where the center changes most. Eddie V's is open, but Brio's old space and the RH restaurant are both still under construction. The established restaurants are still open: Waterside's spring announcement lists BrickTop's, California Pizza Kitchen and True Food Kitchen.
The Holiday Calendar on Gulf Shore Boulevard Has Fixed Dates
Many of Waterside's dates still say "fall," "holiday" or "coming soon." The Village Shops on Venetian Bay, at 4200 Gulf Shore Blvd. North in Park Shore, has posted exact days and times for its season.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 to 7 p.m.: Grand Illuminations. The holiday lights go on, with complimentary photos with Santa.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: the Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Day 5K. The Village calls it Naples' original Thanksgiving Day race.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Black Friday weekend begins. Participating boutiques offer Black Friday and Small Business Saturday savings.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Santa photos for dogs. The photos are complimentary.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 3 to 7 p.m.: Holiday on the Bay. The evening includes carolers, character appearances and more than 100,000 lights along the waterfront walkways. At 6 p.m., "snow" falls at what the Village calls Naples' tallest Christmas tree.
Waterside won't be finished by mid-December. The Village calendar gives a Park Shore household five fixed dates on Gulf Shore Boulevard, a few minutes' drive from Waterside, where some of this season's openings will probably still be posting dates.
Retail moves like these change how a neighborhood works day to day, and I follow them as closely as I follow the market. If you'd like to talk about how the area around Seagate Drive and Gulf Shore Boulevard is changing, or what it means for a home in Park Shore, William Ross is glad to help. Let's Connect.
