WHILE THE SARASOTA MARKET served as the proving ground for landscape architect David W. Young, the Naples scene has always been calling. The Collier County community, after all, was where Young grew up, the place where he fell in love with the outside world, and where he decided someday he would shape it. And with the opening of a branch office in Naples, he will once again get that chance. “I still feel the draw of Naples,” Young says.

Young, who founded DWY Landscape Architects in 1999, says it was ultimately a business decision to expand beyond the Sarasota marketplace. While the company still has plenty of room to grow in Sarasota, the similar demand for modern coastal homes makes Naples a great market for the firm. “The Naples-Fort Myers area, all south of Sarasota, is a sweet spot for the type of work we do here,” Young says. Real estate professionals in Sarasota often look for benchmarks in the Naples market because the regions have such similar environment, demographics and clientele. Of course, Young works with the same sort of vegetation and climate in Sarasota that he will face working on a Naples property, but similarities extend to style as well. Lush and luxurious, slick and palatial—the same elements of design get incorporated into a pool lanai on the coast of Lido Key as one in Aqualane Shores. For the moment, the operation in Naples is small, Young says. He will keep office hours probably twice a month, and the rest of his staff will remain stationed in Sarasota. And of course, Young finds reason to make it to Naples whether there is business to do or not. He still has family living there, and makes the drive for birthdays and other gatherings with some regularity. Why not develop a business network as well? “It’s about meeting with architects and builders. I just need to make some good connections.” Some time in the future, there could be a larger staff stationed in Naples full-time. But Young says Sarasota provided DWY with a great community in which to launch, and he won’t abandon clients here in search of greener pastures or larger backyards. “The idea is keeping the Sarasota office fully active,” Young says. As he gets started, networking remains the biggest reason to spend time in Naples at all. =

FLORA FINESSE
Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences Renovation

JUST BECAUSE DWY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS has a Naples office now doesn’t mean major projects in Sarasota won’t benefit from the botanical brilliance. Residents of the Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences enjoy a renovation of the pool deck that just reopened in February. Now, a previously underutilized grilling area has been replanted with blue tango, Boston ferns and lantana to create a bromeliad wonderland. “It was all about activating that space,” said landscape architect David W. Young. Vegetation surrounding the pool was also replenished with sabal palms and other accent trees to guarantee proper shading. Young hopes the area proves a perfect place for cooking and cocktails alike.