Collier County leaders called a 25-acre site on the old Golden Gate Golf Course the future location of the county’s largest workforce housing site to date during a dedication ceremony Monday.
The future development called Renaissance Hall at Old Course will be at the southeast corner of the golf course at the southwest corner of Golden Gate Parkway and Collier Boulevard, which was acquired by the county in 2019. It will be supported by a county surtax passed by the community dedicated to purchasing land to meet workforce housing needs.
“The availability of workforce housing is the foundation on which so much of our prosperity is built,” Collier County Manager Amy Patterson said. “[It] helps to create stable and diverse communities, such as where we are today in Golden Gate City. When families are able to afford to live near their jobs, it strengthens their ties to the community and contributes to a sense of belonging and social cohesion.”
About 380 workforce housing units for frontline workers, including first responders, nurses and teachers, are planned for the housing project, led by developer Rural Neighborhoods. The organization was founded in 1982 as the Everglades Community Association and works to provide shelter for working families, especially migrant and seasonal farm workers. It built new communities, including Immokalee, Okeechobee and LaBelle, and owns nearly 1,600 rental units serving a total of 100,000 individuals.
“I think with this project and others, we are seeing an era where elected officials truly are trying to find innovative ways to create affordable housing,” said Steven Kirk, president of Rural Neighborhoods since 1994. “I believe it’s the best climate that they’ve had in two decades to continue that effort.”
Kaydee Tuff, a member of the Golden Gate Civic Association, said there is a need for development, even though it wasn’t part of the original vision for the Golden Gate City area.
“Today’s groundbreaking is bittersweet,” Tuff said. “… We would have loved to have retained our golf course, which was the last chance entry point into to our community not lined with apartment complexes. We recognize the need for workforce housing, so people like firefighters, teachers, officers and nurses do not have to drive over 90 miles a day because they cannot afford to live in the community they serve.”
The second phase of the project will be Renaissance Senior Living, made up of more than 100 affordable apartments for those age 62 years and older. Phase one is anticipated to begin building in early 2024.
“Our goal is to build something that is not only best in class, but anything that is best in class in this community will be a national model in which we will be able to take great pride,” Kirk said.
The workforce housing project is one of many moving parts of the overall Golden Gate Golf Course project. Another major planned development is the 120-bed state veterans nursing home, which will provide adult day care, health care and outpatient therapy services for veterans.
Also planned is a Collier County Public Schools vocational education facility for post-high school technical training. In addition, a nine- or 12-hole public golf course is planned for part of the property, featuring facilities for First Tee—Naples/Collier facility.
“I think 2024 will be the time where we see these projects coming to fruition,” Collier County Commissioner Burt Saunders said.
