Phil Fernandez | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News

Key Points

• New housing communities are emerging across Southwest Florida, including in Naples, Estero, Cape Coral and Fort Myers.
• Rivergrass development in Collier County has begun construction on more than 1,000 homes.
• In Cape Coral, the $100 million Bimini Square project is debuting apartments, dining and healthcare services.
• Estero’s Coconut Point is adding new businesses, including proposed apartments, restaurants and retail stores.

As Southwest Florida’s frosty February chill prevailed, new and proposed housing communities continued to emerge in Naples, Estero, Cape Coral and Fort Myers.

A landmark Collier County endeavor was among them.

Here’s what to know.

There’s Collier County’s Rivergrass, and then there’s River of Grass
Impact on the economy and perhaps traffic will come in the form of Rivergrass, different in shape but similar in name to the somewhat adjacent River of Grass, as author Marjory Stone Douglas dubbed the Everglades eight decades ago.

With Lennar leading the way, construction just kicked into high gear on more than 1,000 homes, where the address is 5063 Oil Well Road, Immokalee. The target is to have the first of the housing as early as autumn, according to Lennar.

What’s maximum number of homes allowed in Big Cypress area?
The path was paved by Collier Enterprises, which has been finalizing federal, state and local permits for three villages including Rivergrass and a town known as Big Cypress in eastern Collier that have been years in the making with opposition from environmentalists and other folks against urban sprawl.

The maximum number of homes permitted for all of it at this point is nearly 9,700. The combined commercial is slated to reach close to 1.6 million square feet.

Read the full article and get the scoop on Bimini Square in Cape Coral and Estero’s Coconut Point.

Are you looking for a home in the thriving Southwest Florida area? Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.