The Naples 100 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Collaborating on Workforce Housing When philanthropy partners on public projects, it’s a win-win strategy. By Cathy Chestnut
A
ffordable workforce housing for essential personnel in Collier County is taking shape, thanks to a public-private partnership between the county and local foundations. There are almost 43,000 local households with insufficient incomes that put them “below the survival threshold” and facing “constantly rising costs and rarely rising wages,” according to the United Way of Collier and the Keys. For a family of four, that income is $75,204; for a single person, it’s $26,496. “Of our state’s top 20 professions, none actually pays a livable average wage for residents of Collier,” the United Way reports. Issues surrounding the high cost of housing were identified in the 2017 Collier County Community Needs and Assets Assessment. This spurred the Community Foundation of Collier County and Moorings Park Foundation to partner with the county to convert the defunct Gold-
en Gate Golf Course into housing that is financially in reach for teachers, law enforcement, first responders, and health-care personnel. The county purchased the 167-acre site through the new Workforce Housing Land Trust and has approved the Rural Neighborhoods affordable housing nonprofit to develop the 350- to 450unit complex, with 10 percent of the units devoted to limited-income seniors and veterans. It will also include a public 12-hole golf course and BigShots driving range. The Community Foundation and Moorings Park Foundation are contributing $10 million toward the project to defray costs so that rents won’t exceed 30 percent of residents’ income. “The price points wouldn’t have been as affordable without those charitable dollars,” says Collier County Deputy Manager Nick Casalanguida. This public-private partnership for essential workforce housing is the first of its kind in Florida, says Community Foundation of Collier Coun-
The Naples 100
60
Collaborating for Community_NP100_20.indd 60
10/23/20 10:36 AM
