NAPLES REPORT: MORE HOMES UNDER CONTRACT IN OCTOBER
Buyer activity began to rise in October with a 23.7% increase in overall pending sales (homes under contract) to 987 pending sales during October 2019 compared to 798 pending sales in October 2018, according to the October 2019 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island). Home showings were up 40% compared to October 2018, and the number of price reductions slowed to 15% of the properties available in October’s overall inventory compared to September, which saw 26% of its inventory’s prices reduced. Closed sales during October increased by 9.7% to 758 closed sales compared to 689 closed sales in October 2018. To view the entire report, visit www.NaplesArea.com
RSW REPORTS RECORD-BREAKING OCTOBER
During October, 638,922 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, an increase of 12.2 percent compared to October 2018. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 8.8 percent compared to last year. The traffic leader in October was Delta Air Lines with 139,527 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were American (111,139), Southwest (104,141), JetBlue (85,919) and United (72,512). Southwest Florida International Airport had 5,451 aircraft operations, an increase of 1.3 percent compared to October 2018. Page Field saw 10,692 operations, a 16.6 percent increase from October 2018. In addition, more than 3.3 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in October 2019. For more information, visit www.flylcpa.com.
PGD AWARDED $6 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT
The Charlotte County Airport Authority will be receiving $6 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for construction of a new general aviation (GA) apron on the north side of the Punta Gorda Airport (PGD). As part of PGD’s Master Plan Update, management planned for continued commercial air traffic growth at its existing site, and resolved to relocate GA activities to the largely undeveloped north side of PGD’s property adjacent to runway 9-27 off Challenger Boulevard. The award is part of the Federal Department of Transportation’s Airport Improvement Program’s supplemental appropriation, which included dozens of grant announcements to airports around the country.
LEE HEALTH FACILITIES EARN ‘BEST NURSING HOME’ STATUS
HealthPark Care & Rehabilitation Center has again been listed as a 2019-2020 Best Nursing Home by U.S. News & World Report, earning two top badges for quality care. The Skilled Nursing Unit (SNU) at Lee Memorial Hospital also earned top marks for short-term care. New this year, U.S. News is assigning most facilities two ratings – one for “short-stay rehab” and a new “long-term care” rating. Out of 13,685 nursing homes that received a long-term care rating, 1,139 were designated as High-Performing, according to U.S. News. HealthPark Care & Rehabilitation Center is one of only two facilities in Lee County that earned a “Best Nursing Home” designation for both long- and short-term care. Additional information about each nursing home rated and about the methodology used in the ratings is available at http://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes.
ABOVE BOARD CHAMBER TO DISCUSS RANSOMWARE
The Above Board Chamber will present “Ransomware for Today’s Technology!” in Naples and Fort Myers. The Naples luncheon is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 9 meeting at the Hilton Naples. The panelists are Carrie Kerskie: nationally recognized identity theft, fraud and data privacy expert, as well as a national speaker and author; Jordi Tejero, CRS Technology; Rachel Busch, Cigent Managed Services; and Lt. Chad Parker, Financial Crimes Bureau of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. The luncheon sponsors are Sunshine ACE Hardware and Best Home Services. The Fort Myers luncheon is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 12 meeting at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops. The panelists are Kerskie; Busch; James Bryan Caudill-Ritter, Pulse Technology Solutions; and Lee Noriega, Inceptus. The emcee is NBC2 evening news anchor Peter Busch. The meeting sponsor is Conditioned Air. The cost to attend is $30 for members and $38 for non-members on or before Dec. 5 for the Naples event and Dec. 6 for the Fort Myers event. After those dates, it’s $35 for members and $40 for non-members. Lunch is included in the price. Register for either meeting at AboveBoardChamber.com or call (239) 910-7426.
THE CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER MOVES
Child Care of Southwest Florida has purchased a new facility to provide high-quality early learning programs for families in central and western Fort Myers. The Children’s Learning Center, located at 37 Barkley Circle in Fort Myers, will accommodate up to 100 children from infants through pre-kindergarten, as well as an after-school program for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Child Care of Southwest Florida anticipates opening for students on Jan. 2. The new 5,064-square-foot facility will replace The Children’s Learning Center at Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW). Students who currently attend The Children’s Learning Center at FSW will be guaranteed a position at the new center, which is located three miles to the north. For more information, visit CCSWFL.org.
ROOF OPENS SIXTH SUPPORTED LIVING HOME
Residential Options of Florida (ROOF) has opened its sixth supported living home, known as Liberty Place Naples. Like its other homes, ROOF’s newest supported living home provides an affordable and accessible option for adults with disabilities to live independently in the community with support services to meet their needs. This is ROOF’s first home in Naples and ROOF’s third home in Collier. All six homes owned by ROOF are part of a Community Land Trust program, known as ROOF Housing Trust, that ensures that these homes will remain affordable and available to people with disabilities in perpetuity. Rents in the ROOF homes start at $231 a month, allowing individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) to live affordably and independently. Through its service coordination program, ROOF connects residents to various services in the community, including supported living services, transportation, employment, and benefits planning assistance. Liberty Place Naples was made possible by Collier County through an award of SHIP funds. For more information, visit www.flroof.org.
NCEF CELEBRATES 20 YEARS
The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), the founding organization the Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF), is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a series of public and private events to build awareness of its impact on the local community and underprivileged and at-risk children in Collier County. To kick off the 20th anniversary celebration, NCEF Trustees boarded the Naples Princess luxury yacht on Nov. 1 for a “Cruise Down Memory Lane.” On Jan. 15, NCEF Trustees will collaborate with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation on what will become the first “Annual Give Back Day” at Youth Haven, an emergency and residential shelter for boys and girls ages 6-18 that was one of the original NCEF beneficiaries. Another original beneficiary, Boys & Girls Club of Collier County, will showcase its Blue CanTEEN food truck. The 20th annual NWWF will take place on Jan. 25, 2020 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples. On March 3, 2020, NCEF will partner with the NaplesNEXT Ideas Festival to bring together distinguished members and elected leaders of Collier County, state and local representatives, and national experts for a State of the Community Summit. NCEF will continue its 20th anniversary celebration in April 2020 by dedicating its new permanent headquarters.
CHARITABLE NOTES
Storm Smart to sponsor End-of-Hurricane-Season Celebration
Storm Smart is kicking off its inaugural “End-of-Hurricane-Season Celebration and Bahama Relief Fundraiser” on Fort Myers Beach. The celebration will include a First Responders Gratitude Party from 4-8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Yucatan Beach Stand Bar & Grill. The event will feature live entertainment, a 20% discount for first responders and military personnel, and a hurricane-flag-burning rehearsal. The event will be followed by The Fort Myers Beach Premiere of Matt Dean’s documentary, “The Old Man and the Sea – Return to Cuba,” at 7:30 p.m., also on Wednesday, at the Lighthouse Resort Inn and Suites. The Official End-of-Hurricane-Season Celebration will take place from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday at the Yucatan Beach Stand Bar & Grill. At 5 p.m., the time-honored Key West tradition, “End-of-Hurricane-Season Burning of the Hurricane Flags,” will affirm the official end of the 2019 hurricane season. All events are free, open to the public, and will feature live entertainment and drink specials. Proceeds and donations for these events will go to WavesofChange.org. Southwest Floridians and visitors can also make donations directly to WavesofChange.org/flagship-wolf. For more information, contact David Green at david3green@gmail.com or (239) 470-4229.
Bonita Chamber partners with fire department, assistance office for Toys for Tots
The Bonita Chamber is accepting toy donations for Toys for Tots weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 2-10. The toys will be distributed by the Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District to local families who signed up for the program through the Bonita Springs Assistance Office. Community members are welcome to drop off toys for children ages 6-12 at The Hub at the Bonita Chamber: 25071 Chamber of Commerce Drive. The Chamber will also be collecting toys at its Dec. 12 Holiday Party at Spanish Wells. Tickets for the party are available at BonitaSpringsChamber.com. Gift cards to Walmart are also being collected and will be used by the fire department to purchase additional items. Contact Nina Barbero for more information at Nina@BonitaSpringsChamber.com, or call (239) 992-2943.
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