Planning commission rejects ‘Allura’ apartment project in North Naples

Developers trying to bring an apartment complex to Collier County were met with a setback in the process of trying to do so. This comes after neighbors protested the development back in January.

Collier County Planning Commission voted against bringing the “Allura” complex to North Naples during its meeting Friday.

A considerable majority of homeowners in the area of the proposed complex off Livingston Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway said the area does not have room for the project. Many want to keep the potential four-story 300-plus-unit apartment complex out of their neighborhood.

“It’s been a long hard fight,” neighbor Matthew Laporte said.

Homeowners are feeling more confident after the council decision rejected the complex development.

“Just going to the grocery store, especially in the afternoon,” Laporte said. “And going out to Livingston, we see traffic backed up to Bonita Beach Road constantly, so it’s been a challenge traveling to the store getting to work.”

For Zannos Grekos, he made it a point to speak to the planning commission and tell them what his neighborhood means to his family.

“A lot of us grew up being able to ride your bike down the street to play with your friends, and we need more of those,” Grekos said.

The planning commission’s recommendation to reject the proposal will go to the Collier County Board of Commissioners for review, and the board will ultimately make the final decision for the project. Neighbors hope county commissioners say no.

“This is a neighborhood, and we don’t have a lot of neighborhoods where kids can play outside,” Grekos said. “There’s a lot of gated communities. A lot of them are retirees or snowbirds.”

MORE: Worries over congestion as Allura apartment project gets approval