Three housing projects breaking ground Thursday in the East Naples area are designed for local residents on a tight household budget. The Harmony on Santa Barbara will be a workforce housing development, while Allegro and Cadenza at Hacienda Lakes will be affordable senior housing on Rattlesnake Hammock Road east of Collier Boulevard.
The Harmony, an 82-unit apartment complex, is planned on 3.78 acres of a 5-acre parcel on the east side of Santa Barbara Boulevard and next door to Greater Naples Fire Rescue Station 75 just north of Davis Boulevard. The workforce family housing development will serve residents earning between 30% and 80% of Collier County’s area median income. The property in front of Calusa Park Elementary School previously was owned by the Collier school district but has been owned by the county government for 20 years. The project, made possible through a public-private partnership and a 99-year land lease, will be developed by Miami-based McDowell Housing Partners while the county maintains ownership of the parcel, county development records show.
The developer agrees to target and market at least 10% of the units for seniors, veterans or special needs populations. The Harmony will provide a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments in two L-shaped, 48,000-square-foot, three-story buildings around a 4,000-square-foot clubhouse with outdoor living space and amenities, including a fitness center, media center, playground, swimming pool and grilling area.
Allegro at Hacienda Lakes and Cadenza at Hacienda Lakes are adjacent affordable senior housing developments also being developed by McDowell Housing Partners, an affiliate of McDowell Properties, a national developer and investor of affordable and workforce housing. Each consists of a 160-unit, five-story apartment building with porte-cochere entries designed to serve seniors citizens age 62 and older. The independent living facilities also will provide one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments that will share a clubhouse with a swimming pool, a fitness center, a movie room, outdoor covered living, a putting green and social gathering spaces. The senior housing is part of the Hacienda Lakes mixed-use planned unit development, which also will include commercial projects.
FK Architecture, a Fugleberg Koch Co. based in Winter Park, designed all three housing projects. “Housing costs have exploded over the past few years,” said Ted Hunton, AIA, managing principal at FK Architecture. “We are proud to be a part of the team that will provide modern, safe, affordable and clean housing to those in need. We fully expect these projects to establish long-lasting communities in the years to come.”
Specific rental fees for the multifamily units were not available, but restricted rents were expected to be approximately 30% below comparable market-rate apartments when the county entered into a public/private partnership with McDowell in July 2019 after a competitive bid process. The apartments are targeted for completion in early 2023.
