Collier County approves major Ave Maria expansion plan

Despite opposition from residents, neighbors and some environmentalists, Collier County commissioners approved a plan to add nearly 1 million square feet of commercial development and more than 6,700 homes to the town of Ave Maria. 

The plans have been nearly 25 years in the making, and the next phase is expected to take another 20 years, when county officials say the infrastructure will be in place to support that growth. 

Commissioners voted 4-1, with Commissioner Chris Hall dissenting, to allow Ave Maria Development LLLP to amend the town’s Stewardship Receiving Area, extending it by 2,042 acres to 7,970 acres; adding 6,738 homes to increase the maximum to 17,738; and revising the SRA town plan and master plan. A companion vote amended the developer’s agreement, which outlines commitments to invest in or build infrastructure improvements. 

“We have to manage that growth,” Hall said, arguing the infrastructure wasn’t there yet and Immokalee Road already was failing. “We have to be responsible with it, not just willy nilly.” 

Commissioner Burt Saunders and Vice Chair Bill McDaniel Jr. noted Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Audubon weren’t among those opposing the project, as they often are with other developments. McDaniel suggested that was likely due to their knowledge of and involvement in creating the county’s Rural Lands Stewardship Area program. 

“This is responsible growth, this is managing,” McDaniel told Hall. 

McDaniel, whose district includes the expansion area, made the motion to approve and Chair Dan Kowal seconded it. 

Included among the infrastructure improvements are shoulders along Camp Keais Road, where there will be a roundabout at Pope John Paul II Boulevard, additional bus stops, road resurfacing, sidewalks and transit requirements. The county agreed to pay up to $1.9 million for part of the design and construction costs for improvements to Camp Keais Road south of Pope John Paul II Boulevard. 

Under the RLSA program, the developer must provide 511 affordable housing units, which it plans to satisfy off-site through three rental housing locations totaling about 230 units for low-income families, including sites at Wave at Rose in Immokalee and on 35 acres of farmland. 

The county is widening Immokalee Road in phases, and the project is expected to be completed in time for this expansion. The town’s main entrance is off Oil Well Road near Camp Keais Road, about 7 miles from Immokalee. 

Ave Maria was developed by Barron Collier Companies and Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan and opened in 2005 as a master-planned, faith-based community. 

The roughly 185,000-acre RLSA was adopted in 2002 to protect environmentally sensitive lands while directing growth to less-sensitive areas through a development-credit system. 

Commissioners previously approved expansions to Ave Maria's footprint and removed caps on town size. About 5,700 homes have been built, and the community includes roughly 75 businesses. 

This amendment will add 996,000 square feet of commercial development, increasing the total to more than 2.87 million square feet of retail, office and medical space; add 5,454 single-family homes and 1,284 multifamily units, including up to 511 affordable units; and create a roughly 1,000-acre community for residents 55 and older east of Camp Keais Road. New town centers and parks will be added, along with a larger hotel and hospital. None of the land being developed is considered environmentally sensitive.  

Planning and Zoning Director Mike Bosi told commissioners the RLSA process is a “slow absorbing project,” and Ave Maria is the county’s template.  

“It’s only at the halfway point,” Bosi said, adding the expansion involves homes already allotted, and the county is now 24 years into the program. “That gives you a template that’s 50 years of development.”  

Land-use attorney Rich Yovanovich, who represents the developers, told commissioners the town accomplished what it was intended to do.  

“It’s kept people who live out east out east,” Yovanovich said, adding it changed county traffic patterns. “Instead of having people come to the urban area to receive their services, their services are being provided through the town. … The internal capture has far exceeded what was anticipated because … the town does provide its own neighborhoods, goods and services.”  

But Ave Maria residents told commissioners they don’t want more homes. 

Anna Burky, who said she represented herself, her parents, her family and some neighbors, cited the effect on panthers, which need space to travel and breed, and contended there are already “tons” of houses being built there.  

“We just don’t think it’s necessary,” Burky said. “Let’s let the houses that we have in the pipeline be built and see where we’re at. We have lots of places where we could have businesses. … Nobody wants to lose the small-town feeling, which is what brought many of us here.”  

Resident Darrell Dunteman said he hasn’t met anyone in Ave Maria who supports the expansion. He pointed out that in the past three or four years, real estate listings for open houses there rose 172%, while the average closing price dropped from $478,855 in 2024 to $340,800 last year. 

“So, we don’t need these additional homes,” he said.  

North Naples resident David Silverberg, who is running for state Senate, warned about the effect the property tax homestead referendum could have if voters approve it in the Nov. 3 election. He noted losses to the county are estimated at between $62 million and $121 million in revenue. 

“This potentially could be more of a strain on this county if that amendment goes through than the county could bear,” Silverberg said. “And you will have losses in other areas. My recommendation is this should not even be considered until after the referendum.”  

The South Florida Wildlands Association and the Sierra Club urged commissioners to vote no.  

“Once the panthers go, they’re gone,” said Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association. “You can’t bring them back. … You have an opportunity to recognize the importance of ecosystems, wildlife and the quality of life over urban sprawl. You can be stewards of this land. I ask and encourage you to stand up for something other than money.” 

Commissioners expressed concern about approving the project before the infrastructure was in place, but Yovanovich pointed out the developers met all county requirements for RLSA approval, so it should not be delayed. County staff and the County Planning Commission recommended approval, with one dissenting vote because of concerns about strain on Immokalee Road. Staff noted the project would generate impact fees paid by the developer and would not overburden the county. 

Commissioner Rick LoCastro called it a “well thought out” plan and said he believed the infrastructure would be sufficient once it was built. 

“The master plan was always that Ave Maria was going to grow exponentially,” LoCastro said. “I think this has been the plan all along. … I would have thought when you bought a house out in Ave Maria, you knew all that empty land wasn’t a National Forest. It wasn’t part of the Everglades.” 

The project still must go through other state approvals, including environmental reviews.