Proposed 350 apartments called Allura in North Naples draws criticism at public hearing

A proposed housing development in North Naples faced an onslaught of criticism from neighbors Thursday, and Collier County planning commissioners put off a vote on the apartment project.

Builder Stock Development is asking for an amendment to the county’s growth plan to allow for up to 350 multi-family rental units on 35 acres at the southeast corner of Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Livingston Road.

The proposed development, called Allura, would include three- and four-story buildings.

Some residents of the area say the project would devalue their properties, exacerbate traffic problems and wouldn’t fit into the area.

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After hours of discussion, presentations and public comments Thursday, planning commissioners — for the second time in two months — delayed a vote to their next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 7.

The proposal had been continued to Thursday from a Dec. 6 Planning Commission meeting to allow the developer to work with area residents, said Planning Commission Chairman Mark Strain.

After the Planning Commission gives its recommendation, the request will head before county commissioners for another public hearing and vote. If approved by the County Commission, the proposal would be sent to the state for review and go back before the Planning Commission and County Commission for another round of votes.

Stock Development representatives argued Thursday that the project would fill a need for rental housing in the county and would be set back from existing neighborhoods farther than a development allowed under current rules.

“There is a shortfall of this type of housing in Collier County,” said Rich Yovanovich, a lawyer who represents the developer.

A planned development known as Della Rosa was approved in 2007 on a 15-acre portion of the proposed site for Allura. That project could include up to 107 multi-family units and could have buildings up to 69 feet high.

Della Rosa would have to be set back at least 25 feet from neighboring Barrington Cove, Strain said. 

Allura would be set back at least 125 feet from the property line, developers said.

“If this is turned down, we’ll go in, we’ll have to develop Della Rosa based upon the existing development standards,” Yovanovich said.

But some planning commissioners were concerned with the scale of the project and questioned whether the proposed rent for units would indeed fill a need. 

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The project would be similar in style to Inspira — an existing apartment complex off Rattlesnake Hammock Road and Grand Lely Drive in East Naples. Rent at Inspira ranges from about $1,400 to almost $2,000, said Catherine Cardoza, who manages the property. The rent for Allura apartments would be similar, representatives for the developer said.

“I’m not sure the need is that high-end, market-rate housing as much as it is other types of housing,” Strain said. “So I’m not sure that the need for this is necessarily proven.”

Commissioner Edwin Fryer said he was concerned about the project’s proposed density and the height of the buildings at three and four stories.

“The size still seems to be excessive to me,” Fryer said. “And I would also like to see fewer stories on all the buildings.”

An online petition opposing the original development, which would have included up to 420 units before developers decided to downsize, has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.

On Thursday, area residents and their representatives shared commissioners’ concerns about the density of the project and what the new homes would mean for nearby traffic.

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Daniel Cornillie, a resident of Secoya Reserve, said the proposed development’s high density would create more traffic problems on roads that already are backed up during rush hour.

The project also would not fit with the surrounding communities, he said.

“This proposed development is so obviously out of place that it’s an insult to the surrounding neighborhood, to the Naples brand and to Collier County,” Cornillie said.

Tom Griffith, who lives in Barrington Cove, said the project would lead to a decline in property values for existing homeowners in the area.

“People do not want to buy next to these apartments,” he said. “And they may be great tenants, luxury apartments. The perception is it’s a rental apartment. And I’ve got too many options to buy in other places instead of our area.”

Former Naples City Attorney Bob Pritt, representing the Mediterra Community Association, told planning commissioners Thursday that the project was incompatible with the surrounding single-family neighborhoods. 

There are better locations in Collier for such a development, he said.

“In a county that’s larger than at least two states, there are plenty of places to put something like this, you don’t have to put it somewhere that is, under your comprehensive plan, incompatible,” Pritt said.