Four homebuilders expect to construct total of 1,000 homes at WildBlue on Corkscrew Road
Brittany Carloni, Naples Daily News | Published 7:00 a.m. ET Aug. 10, 2018 | Updated 12:09 p.m. ET Aug. 10, 2018
WildBlue, Estero, Florida community location map
Four homebuilding companies have committed to construct the 1,000 homes planned at WildBlue, a proposed gated community on east Corkscrew Road in unincorporated Lee County.
The WildBlue homebuilders are Lennar Corporation, Pulte Homes, Stock Development and WCI Communities — a Lennar-owned company.
Land development, such as clearing and dirt churning, has started within WildBlue, said Danielle Tocco, vice president of communications for Lennar Corporation, the master planner for WildBlue.
Lennar and Pulte will build the first model homes at WildBlue, which are planned to be completed in the second quarter of 2019, Tocco said.
Home models built by WCI Communities and Stock Development will come later in 2019.
Homes within WildBlue are planned throughout the nearly 3,000-acre property, which is just east of the Village of
Estero. The community borders Corkscrew Road to the south and Alico Road to the north.
WildBlue will include 872 acres of lakes and 1,329 acres of preserve land spread throughout the community, in addition to other on-site amenities, according to a Lennar release.
Each of the four companies are planning homes in the varying sizes and price ranges:
- Lennar will offer homes from 1,800 to 3,800 square feet at a price range from $400,000 to $700,000.
- Pulte Homes is planning homes from 1,671 to 3,900 square feet at a price range from $400,000 to over $1 million.
- WCI Communities will offer homes from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet at a price range of $400,000 to $1 million.
- Stock Development will offer homes from 2,500 to more than 4,000 square feet at prices from $600,000 to more than $4 million.
Homebuilders bought WildBlue property in May
Lee County property records show Lennar, Pulte and Stock each purchased WildBlue land in May from the property’s original developer, Alico East Fund, which is controlled by Private Equity Group of Fort Myers.
Lennar Corporation owns the largest parcel of WildBlue at just over 1,900 acres, which includes the biggest lake in the community, property records show.
Lennar got involved in WildBlue because south Fort Myers and Estero are “highly desirable places to live,” Tocco said.
“There’s a lot to offer,” she said. “They’ve always been home to Lennar, and we continue to find ways to help the area grow.”
Lennar-owned WCI Communities, which will construct homes within WildBlue, does not own property in the development, according to property records.
CalAtlantic Group, another Lennar company, purchased just over 700 acres of WildBlue from Alico East Fund for $27.5 million in December. CalAtlantic merged with Lennar in February.
A representative of Stock Development said the company plans to build 148 homes on land at WildBlue, but directed other questions to Lennar.
Pulte Homes will construct 256 homes on 220 acres of company-owned land in WildBlue, according to a Pulte news release.
Pulte plans to build homes similar to what the company is currently constructing at Corkscrew Shores, another community on east Corkscrew Road, said Richard McCormick, president of PulteGroup’s Southwest Florida division.
McCormick described WildBlue as a “partnership” between the community’s homebuilders.
“I think it’s a really exciting project,” he said. “It’s a large project and It will be highly visible.”
Lee County says it has initial plans for park near WildBlue
In 2015, Lee County commissioners approved a development agreement that allowed Alico East Fund to build up to 1,096 single-family homes and 40,000-square-feet of retail on the 2,960-acre site at WildBlue.
Alico East Fund in the agreement also granted Lee County 488 acres for a public park and emergency services use.
Lee County acquired the land for the park in August 2016. The county parcel is located just south of Alico Road in the northwest corner of the WildBlue development.
Lee County Parks & Recreation has initial concepts for the land, but is still discussing them, county spokeswoman Betsy Clayton wrote in an email.
In Estero, residents have long protested development on Corkscrew Road east of the south Lee County village.
Village residents have especially voiced concerns about how increased development will impact traffic on Corkscrew Road, which narrows to two lanes east of Interstate 75.
Lee County has begun work on four interim improvements to east Corkscrew Road, which includes installing electronic speed signs and creating a westbound to southbound left turn lane on Corkscrew Road near the entrance to The Preserve at Corkscrew.
Those improvements will help road safety in the area as traffic increases due to construction, said Estero Councilman Jim Wilson, who represents Estero communities on east Corkscrew Road.
Lee County expects to select a designer in about four months for the county’s project to four-lane Corkscrew Road, Clayton said.
The project will be segmented into two phases, Clayton said. The stretch of road from Ben Hill Griffin Parkway to gated community Bella Terra would be phase one. Phase two would be from Bella Terra to Alico Road.
Once a designer has been selected for the Corkscrew Road project, design of the first phase will be completed in 18 months, and phase two design should be completed six months later, Clayton said.
Lee County expects to begin construction of the first phase of the project in late 2020, Clayton said.
Do you want to stay up to date with “developments” at WildBlue? Email david@davidcritzer.com to be included on a “special” list for firsthand development information.
This development will be located on the East side of Tamiami Trail (41) across from the Golden Shores/Royal Harbor area.
Condo-retail towers proposed for Triangle in East Naples get zoning OK
One of the largest housing and shopping developments proposed in years for East Naples is on track for groundbreaking after Collier County commissioners approved zoning for it Tuesday.
The zoning change will allow developers Jerry Starkey and Fred Pezeshkan, of Real Estate Partners International, to build up to three towers, each as high as about 15 stories. The 5-acre site stretches between Davis Boulevard to the north and U.S. 41 East to the south in an area long known as the Gateway Triangle.
The area on Naples’ eastern limit has been one of the county’s top redevelopment priorities for years.
It would be next door to another high-rise development, but that proposed project, known as Trio, recently stalled. Trio was to bring a luxury high-rise condo-hotel where Davis meets U.S. 41. But Collier County land records show the developer, Trio Southern Holdings LLC, defaulted on a loan agreement. The deed was conveyed to the lender in lieu of foreclosure to satisfy the loan, according to land records.
The development commissioners voted unanimously to approve Tuesday will feature a mix of housing, hotel rooms, retail and entertainment. The zoning allows up to 377 residential units, 228 hotel rooms and a maximum of 200,000 square feet of space for various commercial uses, including restaurants, coffee shops, bars and a movie theater.
Exactly what kind of restaurants and shops and how many condos or hotel rooms are built will depend on the market, Starkey said.
“We mainly see it as entertainment-based,” he said. “Think restaurants and coffee shops. We’re talking to a cinema. We want a mixture of retail on the ground floors, and that will surround a parking garage. Then at the top will be offices, hotel rooms and residences.”
Starkey said he sees the site as a natural extension of Fifth Avenue South in Naples.
Higher-end developments, bringing more restaurants and pricier condos, have been spreading east along U.S. 41 from Fifth Avenue over the past decade. The site is about a mile from Cambier Park, and it would be a short walk over the Gordon River bridge to a new Hyatt House and Tin City along U.S. 41.
The county has been trying to redevelop it since the late 1990s and purchased the land in 2009 for $6.4 million.
When the county went to sell the property, it was worth $5.2 million, according to a county-funded appraisal completed in August 2016.
Starkey and Pezeshkan offered the $6.4 million during a competitive bidding process later that year, beating out two other developers.
The proposed buildings would be taller than allowed under county rules and by the nearby Naples Airport Authority. But after reviewing the proposal, the Federal Aviation Administration said the development posed no hazard to the airport as long as the buildings are no taller than 160 feet. Commissioners granted a height extension.
Commissioner Donna Fiala said she thinks the project will spark new investment along U.S. 41 and Davis Boulevard, an area that had long been home to several auto body shops, car rentals, moving companies and a nursery.
Many of the small businesses have moved, either selling to developers or moving when the county did not renew their leases.
Mystique aerial view.
Photo: mystiquepelicanbay.com
Pelican 1 Owner LLC, the developer for Mystique, announces that the seventh floor of the 20-story tower has been formed and poured, with additional floors underway. Pelican 1 Owner LLC is an equal partnership between an affiliate of the global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) and an affiliate of the Gulf Bay® Group of Companies (Gulf Bay).
Construction at the ultra-luxury high-rise continues to progress as the pouring of the seventh floor is completed, with the eighth floor expected to be completed by the end of the month. In early February, installation of the exterior glass storefront and window systems and metal framing of interior partitions on the first residential floor (Jardin residences) is expected to begin.
Upcoming milestones at Mystique also include the pouring of the ninth, 10th and 11th floors, which are expected to be completed by the end of February. Mystique’s Certificate of Occupancy is estimated to be achieved in March 2019.
“As construction progresses and this tower continues to rise, so does the momentum and enthusiasm surrounding Mystique,” said Gulf Bay President Aubrey J. Ferrao. “Mystique offers an ultra-luxury lifestyle that is unrivaled in Naples, and the interest and response, not only in Naples, but throughout the U.S. and abroad, has been extraordinary.”
Located close to the beach on one of only two remaining zoned developable land parcels in Naples between The Ritz-Carlton, Naples and Port Royal, Mystique offers 68 estate and four penthouse residences with expansive living spaces and terrace views toward the Gulf of Mexico from most units. Additionally, Mystique offers nine Jardin residences.
Mystique’s building amenities include a 24-hour staffed front desk with a monitored video/electronic closed circuit surveillance system, surveillance cameras at all owner entry accesses, and a two-level parking garage with controlled access. Additionally, Mystique offers SmartEstate integrated technology that features state-of-the-art home automation and monitoring systems, private elevators with biometric/alphanumeric access, and the opportunity to access an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging system.
Mystique’s resort-inspired outdoor recreational amenities include a tropical pool, sun deck with pergolas and lush landscaping, and two Har-Tru tennis courts above the garage deck. Mystique’s lobby-level amenities offer custom-designed interior spaces for socializing, including a club room, parlor, salon, library and solarium/card room.
Mystique also features a theater, billiards room, board room, health and fitness club with the latest in exercise and wellness equipment, ladies’ and men’s steam rooms and showers, and massage rooms with on-call masseurs and masseuses.
Residents also will enjoy the exclusive amenities of Pelican Bay, including private beachfront dining, extensive walking and biking trails, chauffeured tram service, and private access to nearly three miles of Gulf of Mexico beaches.
- Estate residences at Mystique range from 4,003 to 5,280 square feet of air-conditioned living space and are priced from over $3 million to over $7 million.
- Jardin residences offer 1,370 to 2,396 air-conditioned square feet and range in price from $1.2 to $2.2 million.
- Mystique’s penthouse residences, priced starting at $8 million, have been sold.
Founded in 1986, Gulf Bay has completed 14 luxury properties along the 1.5-mile stretch of Gulf-front land within Pelican Bay. In addition, Gulf Bay’s other developments include The Brittany on Park Shore Beach; Marco Beach Ocean Resort® on Marco Island; and the 4,000-acre master-planned community of Fiddler’s Creek®.
Gulf Bay’s completed and under development build-out market value of luxury residential properties is estimated in excess of $5 billion.
For sales information, contact David Critzer at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com.
Unlike national figures for home sales in January which, according to the National Association of Realtors®, dropped 4.8 percent compared to sales in January 2017, home sales in Collier County rose 11 percent in January to 671 home sales in January 2018 from 603 home sales in January 2017. In fact, closed sales of luxury properties (homes above $1 million) were quite remarkable in January with a 123 percent increase over the number of closed sales of luxury properties in January 2017, according to the January 2018 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).
“Thank goodness for the luxury properties for sale; they are driving the market,” said a local Broker, who added, “Pending sales of homes priced above $1 million increased 67 percent in January compared to last year.”
Broker analysts reviewing the report agreed that many of the high-end speculative homes that had been on the market for over two years, especially in desirable locations like the Naples Beach area, were sold in January.
Another local Broker said, “An increase in motivated sellers is demonstrated by January’s overall pending sales, which increased 11 percent.”
“I think we had a lot of pent up demand from wealthy buyers who waited to see how the new tax laws would affect them,” said another local Broker . “Once they understood the law, they obviously felt confident in making a big purchasing decision.”
As such, January’s median closed price decreased 19 percent in the $2 million and above price category. For the entire market, the overall median closed price increased 19 percent in January.
“The storm blew in a lot of business,” remarked a local Broker, who added, “I believe that some buyers who would have purchased in the fourth quarter of 2017 delayed their decision until the first quarter of 2018. It looks like we are off to a good start this year with respect to sales.”
Overall median prices in January decreased for homes up to $1 million compared to last year. For example, median closed prices for properties in the $300,000 and below price category decreased 6 percent in January to $205,000 from $219,000 in January 2017.
“For a long time we saw double digit increases in median closed prices for single-family homes in the $300,000 and below market,” said Cindy Carroll, SRA of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers and Consultants LLC. “But for January, the report showed only a 4 percent increase [year over year (or a 5 percent increase month over month)].”
Overall inventory in Collier County decreased 5 percent in January to 6,071 homes from 6,393 homes in January 2017. However, inventory has been on the rise over the past few months and while the nation continues to experience declining inventory levels that resulted in a 3.4 months supply for January, the Naples area market is seeing its inventory levels increase to 8.2 months of inventory for January.
However, the report also showed a 21 percent decline in inventory for single-family homes in the Naples Beach area, which Carroll says can be attributed to a rush of speculative homes sales in that area.
According to Carroll, the South Naples (34112, 34113) and East Naples (34114, 34117, 34120, 34137) single-family home markets continued to see the strongest increases in value in January, as reflected in 8 and 9 percent increases in median closed prices, respectively.
Interestingly, and as confirmed by several broker analysts reviewing the January report, an unusual closed sales anomaly transpired in January that, while impacting figures for the month, does not influence the market’s activity trend on a 12-month ending basis.
Basically, and as explained by analysts, “The newly constructed luxury high rise condominium in North Naples delayed the closings for 79 of its units that were previously pending until January. This in turn, influenced NABOR®’s closed sales, median closed price, and days on market statistics for the month.”
As reflected in the report, there were 150 closed sales of condominiums in the North Naples area in January (a 150 percent increase over January 2017). By the same token, because the 79 condominiums sold between $1.8 million and $2.5 million, the median closed price in this geographic area increased by 428 percent. The data also showed 0 days on the market for the 79 units. The closings were apparently postponed as a result of the hurricane disruption and not completed until January.
“This type of anomaly is why it’s best for REALTORS® to also review the 12-months ending data that accompanies each monthly report,” said Brenda Fioretti, Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty. “We feel a long-view of the statistics reflects the market’s true behavior better and will help REALTORS® educate both buyers and sellers on how the market is really performing.”
It would be my honor to assist you and your family and friends with your real estate needs.
Best,
David
(239) 285-1086
Belfield new construction home at Naples Reserve – Stock Development photo: stockdevelopment.com
Beautiful Belfield home is ready for you to move-in at Naples, Reserve. The lovely neutral finishes will welcome your style. The open great room floor plan is perfect for your Naples lifestyle.
Living A/C 2,812 sq ft
Entry 137 sq ft
Garage 772 sq ft
Covered Lanais 691 sq ft
Grand Total 4,412 sq ft
- Three Bedroom
- Three Full and One Half Bath
- Great Room
- Kitchen and Nook
- Dining Room
- Study (Optional Fourth Bedroom)
- Outdoor Living
- Pool and Spa
- Split Three Car Garage
Was $964,860 Now Offered At $939,860
Belfield new construction home at Naples Reserve – Stock Development floor plan image: stockdevelopment.com
This ready to live in home can be yours! Contact David at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com for additional information, to view this beautiful home, and make it yours.
*Pictures represent a fully furnished model, actual furnishings and options may vary. **Plans and elevations are artist’s renderings and may contain options which are not standard on all models. In all cases Square Footage represents a “closest to accurate” approximation of final Square footage, however final may vary slightly from original approximation. All prices subject to change without notice. Prices may not reflect lot premiums, upgrades and options. In some cases Community Association and/or Club Membership fees may be required. Stock Development and its associated entities reserve the right to make any necessary changes to pricing, specifications, community amenities, etc. without prior notice.
Ronto Naples Square entrance Naples, Florida new construction condos virtual tour. photo: naplessquare.com
What better way to start 2018 than with a new home at Naples Square, steps from downtown restaurants, shops, boating, beach, and all entertainment opportunities Naples has to offer?
The Ronto Group announced it has broken ground on construction of Phase III at Naples Square in downtown Naples. Phase III purchase agreements worth $37 million have been processed thus far. Situated at 5th Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples Square’s walkable lifestyle and the availability of one and two-story, two and three-bedroom plus den floor plans with open-concept living areas and open-air terraces continue to transform how people live downtown. The community is bringing a sense of cohesion to downtown by connecting 5th Avenue to Bayfront with access on 10th Street via 3rd Avenue South. Ronto has announced plans for the Shoppes at Naples Square, a combination of retail and restaurant space on the eastern edge of the Naples Square site. Ronto anticipates retail openings in 2019. Gulfshore Playhouse has finalized its purchase of a three-acre tract on the northern end of Naples Square and plans to build a multimillion-dollar 56,000 square-feet complex that will include two theaters and an education wing.
Ronto Naples Square Chatham floor plan Naples, Florida new construction condos virtual tour. photo: naplessquare.com
The 2 bedroom, 2 bath, Chatham floor plan is open and spacious and includes a den. With 1,883 sq. ft. under air, a balcony of 260 sq. ft., the total living area is 2,143 sq. ft.
This exciting lifestyle can be yours in 2018! Contact David at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com for additional information, to view the Chatham model, and more at Naples Square at the doorstep of downtown Naples.
Ronto Naples Square pool Naples, Florida new construction condos virtual tour. photo: naplessquare.com
