Swell by Soltura opens luxury rental community in Bonita

Five years ago, Danville Leadbetter and Arron Simon co-founded Soltura, a company focused on building rental communities where houses function like apartments, and apartments are designed to feel like homes. 

Soltura specializes in acquiring distressed or irregularly shaped properties at lower costs than luxury apartment competitors, then designing and building detached apartments tailored to the land. 

They are luxury apartments, but they have their own four walls. Instead of a shared hallway, there’s a shared sidewalk that leads from one front door to another. 

Soltura’s footprint has grown, from 129 units in The Forum in Fort Myers to 629 units, all in Lee County, with the opening of the 200-unit Swell by Soltura. The new community has amenities, such as a business center, dog park, hiking trail and resort-style pool with lap lanes. 

A grand opening and open house are scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Swell by Soltura, 26502 Longboard Drive in Bonita Springs, east of Interstate 75 and off East Terry Street. 

Rents start at $2,046 for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit, $2,698 for a two-bedroom, two-bath and $3,199 for a three-bedroom, two-bath. There are five floor plans available with one, two and three bedrooms. 

“You can put these structures in a tighter configuration,” Leadbetter said. “It’s great for infill.” 

Soltura has just three employees, and the company partners with contractors, including Build LLC of Naples, to build the units. 

“You’re really repeating the same building, over and over again,” Leadbetter said. “It allows us to make the economics work, because land costs have gone up significantly. Interest rates are a big component of the challenges we face.” 

Soltura paid $650,000 for the 12-acre site at The Forum that became Odyssey. That project reached capacity and since has been sold. 

Soltura then developed 160 units on 12 acres that became Altair, also in The Forum. 

Argos by Soltura, located off Schoolhouse Road in Fort Myers, was built next. That became 140 units on 14 acres, with 16 adjacent acres being preserved. 

When Soltura began with Odyssey, it paid $54,166 per acre. With Swell, it paid $195,000 per acre. 

Soltura paid $3.9 million in April 2022 for 20 acres for the Swell project. It had been owned by the Diocese of Venice, which still owns an adjacent 40 acres to the east. Swell is about 25% leased and 17% occupied. 

“We can take these odd-shaped parcels and still make the economics of the project work, because we’re able to find the density,” Leadbetter said. 

With new apartments continuing to open across Southwest Florida, Soltura pushed the pause button on developing any more in the region. Leadbetter and Simon are turning their attention to another area of growth — northwest Arkansas. 

They are also working with Florida Gulf Coast University to develop employee housing near the campus. 

Leadbetter said he hopes Swell will rent fast. “We elevate the experience,” Leadbetter said. “As I mentioned, not with just, you know, the landscaping but also with the finishes in the home.”