Best deal? Naples Great Wolf Lodge room or day pass? Also, did home sales drop?

Reader Pat Bednar took a break from rehearsing "Heartbreaker" and "Love is a Battlefield" to make an In the Know inquiry that folks have been asking about a lot in regards to the rising 530,000-square-foot compound off I-75 and Collier Boulevard.

"Will the year-round residents of Naples be able to take their visiting grandchildren to Great Wolf Lodge for a day pass, as no lodging is needed? Hope so. Thank you."

Thanks for reading. Always been a big fan of those 1980 hits including your version of "I Need a Lover" that seemed slightly better than the one by Johnny Cougar or John Mellencamp, my second favorite Hoosier after my Purdue University bride, of course.

Oh wait, you're Pat Bednar, not Pat Benatar. I guess I'll "hey, hit the highway" and get back to answering your query.

Here's more to know about the state's first Great Wolf resort and indoor water park and other Southwest Florida activity.

When will day passes begin at Great Wolf Lodge South Florida?

While plans remain in flux, Great Wolf honchos are projecting those to begin about a year from now, possibly around Easter time, which as we also know around here, that's when flocks and flocks of snowbirds take flight on their return north. That would come within six to seven months after the targeted Sept. 25 debut of the complex, one of Collier County's largest workplaces and Southwest Florida's third largest employer in tourism.

"The best way to experience Great Wolf is to stay overnight, and be able to enjoy our restaurants, our 61,000-square-foot adventure park, in addition to the water park," said Jason Bays, the Great Wolf Lodge South Florida general manager who comes here after leading the chain's Atlanta area site. "That being said, a few months after we open, we will have some limited day pass opportunities for guests who want to just join us for the day. Absolutely."

How popular are the day passes at Great Wolf Lodge?

The popularity of them varies by location, but Vice-President Jason Lasecki noticed a bit of activity at the spot currently closest to Naples, particularly by the passerby: "It's funny. Jason ran the Georgia resort. We do go through a lot of day passes. A lot of the day passes were coming from guests who were staying at a neighboring hotel, and they saw it. 'Hey, let's go there for the day' kind of thing," Lasecki said. "But what you'll find is that guests who spend the overnight do end up getting a richer experience. The water park is definitely the most marquee attraction.

"But to do MagiQuest, the dance parties that we have in the lobby, the kiss goodnight (immersive bedtime storytelling), if you will, they're fantastic. We have so many high tech bells and whistles in the lobby experience. I worked at Disney for 17 years. I know what the Orlando amusement parks offer. The lobby show that we have here, I would say is the same caliber of entertainment you would see at a Universal or a Disney. And the only way you get the experience is to stay overnight. If you just come out here for the water park, you're missing out on a lot of the entire Great Wolf experience."

What's the better deal ― overnight or day pass at Great Wolf Lodge?

"One of the greatest value propositions about Great Wolf is you get the room, but you can start using the water park as of 1 p.m. on the day you check in." Lasecki said. "And on the day you check out, you can use it all the way until it closes that night. Your check out time is 11 so you need to vacate your room but you can still use the water park all the way until it closes at 8, 9 o'clock that evening. We have locker rooms there with showers so even if you vacated your room and you want to change clothes, shower after leaving the water park, we have those facilities."

What about day pass pricing versus a staycation at Great Wolf Lodge?

While pricing hasn't been set locally, when In the Know checked on its newest in the Baltimore area, a weekday pass was $80 per person, and it was $120 for Saturday or Sunday.

Great Wolf will charge up to $1,000 a night for its most basic accommodation, but every time In the Know has gone to its site this year, it has found specials for the new Southwest Florida entrant. For example, a $150 nightly rate could be had last week for a one-night stay on Oct. 29, six months from now. However, on that previous Saturday Oct. 26, it would cost you $399.

What high school is taking over college campus in Fort Myers, Florida?

As we first reported last year, Hodges University is officially ending its 34-year run this summer after running into financial and enrollment challenges.

That paved the way for what LSI Cos. described last week as the largest Lee County office transaction in the past three years at Colonial Boulevard and Winkler Avenue.

Evangelical Christian School, which previously had already called dibs on the 17 acres and its 110,000 square feet of space, paid $28.6 million with plans to move its high school there in August.

The rest of the students in middle school and younger are slated to remain about five miles away on the 20-plus acres near Page Field that has served as home since a 1975 purchase of $110,000. That campus, which includes an additional eight or so acres acquired over the years, is worth about $30 million, according to Evangelical.

How much have home sales dropped in the Naples area of Florida?

Sales are down as the inventory explodes in Collier County, but that's still not keeping home prices from surging, according to Friday's newest Naples Area Board of Realtors data.

The median closed price hit $649,000, which is 6% higher than a year ago. That happened despite 68% more housing inventory, now reaching well over 5,000. Sales dropped 14%.

What trend is showing a potential change in Southwest Florida housing?

But MVP Realty's Rick Harrison, who does a regular video blog on the Southwest Florida market, has noticed an uptick in pending sales, a potential indicator of what's to come and possibly tied to interest rates dropping last month.

"This is still slightly skewed toward a sellers market in Collier County," Harrison said. Interest rates "came down quite a bit. A lot of people did jump in. You can see the new pending sales did increase. (An) increase means that there are buyers who are still coming out there. They're willing to buy."

How many more houses have flooded Florida's Lee County market?

For Lee County-based Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, the median closed for houses and condos is only off slightly from $380,000 a year ago to $379,000 now. Sales sank by nearly 3% as its inventory grew by almost 60%, passing the 8,000 mark.

"Even though it is a slight sellers market, there's still an advantage for buyers right now," Harrison said. "You have a little more leverage asking for closing costs, making offers a little bit lower. But again, if it's a great property, it's priced well, it's in a good location ― those homes are still selling pretty quickly. I just looked at one the other day ― $1.4 million property, seven acres ― with one of my clients, and within two days it had an offer and under contract."

What new development is slated for Unbuilt Triangle in SW Florida?

The momentum continues in the Unbuilt Triangle we first told you about recently.

PulteGroup told us what it's building on about 40 acres it acquired for $1.5 million in the Helms Road corridor of LaBelle.

That falls within the region loosely bordered by state roads 80, 82 and 29 in now heavily rural east Lee and Hendry counties, where more than 450,000 residents are projected to live. There's housing developments galore on the horizon, and PulteGroup is part of it.

Near State Road 80 and a Walmart, it plans Caloosa Cove, a gated Centex community of 137 single-family homes, with a starting price in the low $300,000s and sales beginning late this year. To go with two bathrooms and two-car garages in about 1,500 square feet of living space, floor plans call for either three or four bedrooms.

What did it take for LaBelle, Florida city government to approve project?

PulteGroup notes seven LaBelle parks are within a 10-minute drive, plus the anticipated completion this year five miles away of the C-43 Reservoir and its 10,000 acres with boat and kayak launches, and hiking, biking and equestrian trails.

A comprehensive plan tweak by LaBelle government paved the way for the new community on former agricultural land, with the City Commission and staff calling for 14 acres of green space, the planting of oak trees and a maximum building area of 55% of the 4,800-square-foot lots, according to public records.

What is new affordable housing effort feeding into Unbuilt Triangle?

An 11.5-acre redevelopment project approved last week for just south of State Road 82 would feed into the Unbuilt Triangle.

Acting as the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Board, the City Council began the search for builders to construct a 26-unit affordable housing community known as White Coral, 2200 Jaylen Watkins St., less than a half-mile south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and north of Edison Avenue.

"We are interested in a developer who can not only build the homes but to provide the education that will allow our families to be successful, to assist them in obtaining mortgages and to ensure the construction is sustainable and will allow them to again have a community that they are creating together," said Michele Hylton-Terry, executive director of the Fort Myers CRA. "Homeowners will take pride in their residences, actively preserve the community's cultural heritage and build wealth across generations.”

Who will qualify to live in the new Fort Myers, Florida community?

While the cost of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family houses hasn't been determined, Hylton-Terry said households earning 30% to 80% of the area median income would qualify. In new data this month, the federal government set the Lee County yearly median for a household of four at $88,800.

"That all has to be worked, but we are trying to keep it affordable," Hylton-Terry said. "We would be looking for opportunities to bring down the cost, whether it be down payment assistance and other measures like that. Obviously, we want these families to be successful in these homes. (The) mortgage payment cannot be more than 30% of the household income."

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When will new Lee County, Florida affordable housing be constructed?

The selection of the company would likely occur by summer, with site work beginning a year later and completion by December 2027, according to the CRA.

"This project aims to establish a thriving neighborhood," Hylton-Terry said. "Several developers have expressed interest."

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How might the Fort Myers, Florida region benefit from the new project?

CRA Advisory Board Chairman Jarrett Eady said he hopes the enterprise elevates the area and leads to other endeavors.

"Lifting as we climb," said Eady, who grew up near the site and sees it as "a great opportunity. Housing is always a great indicator of seeing community progress. (If) there's an opportunity to do other overall infrastructure improvements to the general neighborhood along the corridor, I think it will benefit all folks who are adjacent."

Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez ([email protected]) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know, one of USA TODAY Network's most read local news columns in the state. Support democracy. Subscribe to a newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida Great Wolf Lodge offering day passes at Naples resort?