Collier moves forward with $20M land purchase for conservation, affordable housing

Author: Aisling Swift, Gulfshore Business
Published: Updated:
Credit: LSI Companies Inc.

Two weeks after rejecting a $23 million price tag for the Williams Reserve property, Collier County commissioners unanimously agreed to move forward May 28 when the seller accepted its $20.77 million offer.

It’s the average of two independent appraisals for the roughly 2,247-acre property near Immokalee and Lake Trafford. The largest parcel, 1,410 acres, will be purchased using $11.98 million in Conservation Collier funds, and another 250 acres will be used for parks, including one named after the seller, James E. Williams Jr. Preserve, for at least 20 years. Another 412 acres will be dedicated to affordable, workforce housing.

Commissioner Rick LoCastro thanked fellow commissioners for sticking with the appraisal prices, explaining that when they acquire environmentally sensitive property, they need to “manage it like a business and not waste taxpayer dollars.”

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