'Big Publix' on Marco Island to close late June; demolition to begin in the following weeks

The Publix at Shops of Marco will close June 27, according to a spokesperson for the company.

The employees currently working at the "big Publix," as locals call it, will be offered positions at surrounding locations, according to Brian West, community relations manager with Publix.

"We’re very proud that in our 90-year history, we have never had a layoff," he wrote to Marco Eagle on June 3. 

The store's demolition will begin in the following weeks, according to West. "We do not have an exact timeline for construction," he said.  

The new store, to be built at the same location, will open sometime next year, according to West. "I can only share that the new location will open in 2021," he wrote.

Marco Island City Council approved a resolution Jan. 22 amending its site development plan.

The redevelopment of this site had been approved in December 2018, according to a staff report. When submitting documents to the city, however, the applicant did not include the revised elevations and therefore it was not approved.

"This redevelopment project was approved in December 2018 and just through omission the revised architectural plans were not submitted for the final approval so what they did was submit it for approval now," said Mary Holden, senior planner of the city, during the council meeting.

The approved amendment included changes like breaking up the building mass in the rear, the addition of Bahama shutters, changing the roof structures in the front, color and material changes, according to the report.

Lance Shearer, correspondent with the Eagle, reported in May of last year the new store will increase to 48,000 square feet.

"The current store is a little more than 40,000 sq. ft., so the new store will be considerably larger," West wrote to the Eagle on Jan. 21. "It will also include a pharmacy and a liquor store."

The Eagle first reported about the company's plan to demolish the grocery store in 2018. 

Contact Omar at omar.rodriguezortiz@naplesnews.com, and follow him on Twitter  as @Omar_fromPR. Support his work by subscribing to Naples Daily News.