Collier Enterprises | Minto Communities: Plans put town of 4,000 in E. Collier
By June Fletcher
A long-planned town on rural lands in eastern Collier County might be closer to reality.
Collier Enterprises said Friday it is working with Canadian-based Minto Communities on planning and permitting about 4,000 homes and a 150,000-square-foot town center as part of the first phase of development for the 4,000-acre Rural Lands West property in eastern Collier County.
Patrick Utter, vice president of real estate for Naples based Collier Enterprises, said it chose Minto as the community’s first builder because “they have a big environmental focus and we think they have a good understanding of the market.”
Minto is the builder of the Isles of Collier Preserve, an eco-oriented community it created after acquiring Collier Enterprises’ former Sabal Bay property in 2012.
The permitting process for Rural Lands West will involve local, state and federal agencies, and is estimated to take two to three years to complete.
Site preparation on the property, which is at Oil Well Road just east of Golden Gate Estates, is expected to begin in 2017. About 90 percent of the land currently is farmland leased to a number of winter vegetable growers, Utter said.