Park near Nordstrom Rack, walk toward the plaza, and follow the signs around the lake. That's the actual walking direction Real Seafood Company gives its own customers trying to find the dining room, and it happens to trace almost exactly the route most Pelican Landing residents already know by heart, through the plaza, past the fountain, down toward the marina where the boat idles before its twelve-minute crossing to Big Hickory Island.
If you've made that walk more than a handful of times in the last year or so, you've probably noticed something. The storefronts along the way keep changing. Not in the slow, one-restaurant-a-year way malls usually shed and refill space, but in a tighter cluster than Coconut Point has seen in a long time. That turnover isn't background noise. It's the leading edge of a two-year project that's about to change what the mall looks like on your way to the dock.
A Wave of Turnover, Then Another
Start with the anchor-sized swap. Real Seafood Company opened December 11, 2024, in the former Bokamper's Sports Bar & Grill space, closing out a 20-year run at its original North Naples location. The general manager said the reception from people who live in the area had been overwhelmingly positive.
The next wave came about ten months later. Between September and November of 2025, four more spaces turned over in quick succession. SB Bar debuted September 1 in the space that used to be the Brass Tap. PJK Neighborhood Chinese Restaurant took over the former Blue Water Bistro and Saloon space next to Ruth's Chris that same fall, building out more than 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor seating. Alba Breakfast & Brunch was slated to open that October in a unit that had cycled through Lehne Burger, BurgerIM, and Johnny Rockets. Casa Blu was targeted for that November in the former home of Amfora Mediterranean and MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza, right next to Starbucks, so it should be open and settled in by now. Nordstrom Rack celebrated its grand opening October 2 in the space last occupied by Christmas Tree Shops, itself a former Bed Bath & Beyond.
Six spaces changed hands in about a year. For a mall that had run the same way for most of two decades, that's an unusually fast reshuffle, and the changes didn't stop when the calendar flipped to 2026. Starbucks reopened this June after a renovation. Estero Bay Olive Oil and Tea relocated to a larger spot this summer. Toy World is set to move into a bigger location this September. And Shake Shack is now confirmed to open in 2027, the newest name to join a dining lineup that already includes The Cheesecake Factory, Divieto Ristorante, Ted's Montana Grill, and Rodizio Grill.
The Mall Itself Is Getting a Face-Lift, Not a Rebuild
The retail churn is happening alongside something bigger. Coconut Point turns 20 this November, and its owner, Simon Property Group, has been in front of the Estero Planning, Zoning and Design Board since last October laying out a two-year exterior refresh. The architecture itself isn't changing. The Mediterranean Revival look, the barrel tile, the arches, all of it stays. What's changing is the color.
Simon's development vice president, Scott Richardson, told the board the center couldn't afford to coast into its third decade unchanged.
"You either improve them, they get better or you stand pat, and you watch them erode."
The architect on the project, Kristin Mulkey, was clear that the goal isn't a modern overhaul but a sharpened version of what's already there, built around a new palette of alabaster, moderate white, accessible beige, tony taupe, and pavestone. As of last fall's board meeting, the first phase was expected to begin sometime in 2026, which puts us squarely inside that window right now. There's no public confirmation yet of exactly which corner breaks ground first, so the version of Coconut Point you're walking through this month could be the last one before scaffolding shows up, or it could hold steady until closer to the anniversary. Either way, if you've got a favorite spot in the plaza before a beach day, this is a reasonable season to enjoy it without assuming it'll look the same by winter.
Why the Marina Corner Matters More If You Live in Pelican Landing
None of this is trivia if the mall next to your marina is also your literal path to the water. Pelican Landing's private beach park sits on 34 acres at the north end of Big Hickory Island, reachable only by a community shuttle that crosses Estero Bay in about 12 minutes from Coconut Point Marina. There's no public dock, no drive-up option. The boat is the only way in, and the marina it launches from sits inside the same retail footprint as the restaurants above.
That's what makes the last year and a half of turnover worth tracking instead of just noticing. The cluster of new openings, SB Bar, Alba, Casa Blu, Real Seafood Company, PJK, sits along the Village Shops Way and Fashion Drive corridor that runs right past the plaza and lake area residents already cross on shuttle days. A pre-beach coffee stop, a post-beach dinner, a rainy-day lunch before the next crossing, the options along that specific stretch have changed more since Real Seafood's December 2024 opening than most people passing through on their way to the marina have probably clocked.
The sailing center Pelican Landing operates out of Coconut Point Marina, with its fleet of Hobie Wave, American 18, and Sunfish boats available to owners at no extra charge, sits in that same corner too. So does the marina where owners can lease slips separately at Coconut Point Marina or the Red Fish Docks. This isn't a mall you drive fifteen minutes to visit on a whim. For a meaningful share of Pelican Landing residents, it's the last stop before the water and often the first one after.
What to Expect Over the Next Few Months
A few practical notes for anyone planning around this corner of Estero between now and the anniversary in November:
- Starbucks reopened this June following its renovation, so that stop is back in rotation.
- Casa Blu was targeted to open last November in the former Amfora space next to Starbucks, so it should be open and worth checking if you haven't tried it yet.
- Toy World is moving to a larger location this September, useful to know if you're used to finding it in its current spot.
- Shake Shack has been confirmed but isn't opening until 2027, so don't plan around it just yet.
- The exterior color refresh has no confirmed start date beyond "sometime in 2026," so scaffolding near the plaza could appear with little notice between now and the November anniversary.
None of this changes what Pelican Landing is or why people who already live there chose it. The private beach, the sailing center, the tennis courts, the pickleball and bocce, all of that is unaffected by what color the stucco turns next door. But the mall that sits between your driveway and your dock has changed more since late 2024 than most people crossing through it have had reason to track, and knowing which spaces are new, which are moving, and which are about to disappear behind a construction fence makes the walk from the parking lot to the boat a little more useful than it was last summer.
If you're weighing what a home in this corner of Bonita Springs is actually worth given everything happening around it, from a marina getting busier to a mall reinventing its edges, Taylor Stewart can walk you through what that means for your property specifically. Get your free home valuation and find out where Pelican Landing's numbers stand today.
