A bellwether project

Anthony Solomon looked at the same numbers on existing condos in Naples as everyone else, and he came to the same conclusion as everyone else. But he acted before most others.

“There's basically no supply,” reasoned Solomon, executive vice president of The Ronto Group.

A year ago, a partnership of Naples-based Ronto and Greenwich, Conn.-based Wheelock Street Capital acquired a prime 19-acre parcel in downtown Naples, steps from tony Fifth Avenue for $21.5 million. That's where they plan to build 300 condos and 150,000 square feet of commercial space in a development called Naples Square.