Collier County commissioners looking to buy 2,250 acres in Immokalee

Collier County is buying more than 2,000 acres near Lake Trafford in Immokalee.

“Affordable homes for the communities is desperately needed. And their recreational fields. We don’t have enough places for our kids to play sports,” said Manny Touron, the president of the Immokalee Soccer Pit Cobras.

The county says the land could help with workforce housing, parks, improved stormwater management and fire operations, while other parts of the land would be set aside for conservation.

“This is very important for the Immokalee area,” said Commissioner Burt Saunders. “And from an environmental standpoint, of course, that’s important for all of the county. So, I’m very excited about this.”

The final price tag is $23 million, so WINK News asked Commissioner Burt Saunders what happens next.

“This is far from being a done deal. We’ve agreed with the property owner in terms of the price, the price, and all of those details, contracts have been signed. But the county has now six months to do an environmental assessment,” he explained.

Touron said this is music to his ears.

“We’ve been fighting for this for a long time,” he said. “There’s been a lot of meetings, a lot of conversations, a lot of anger. And hopefully, this will settle things down a little bit. And we have to be patient now.”

He’s been working with kids in Immokalee for years and said people in the area need more parks and more workforce housing.

“I don’t know, timewise, I just hope that that I can see it, that I’m not somewhere else. I hope that I can see this place and have a smile when I walk into whatever field is there,” Touron said.

Commissioner Saunders said they plan to discuss this again in about two or three months after they get the environmental reports from staff.