By Jennifer Beesome  |  Naples Daily News

A new four-story apartment complex planned for North Naples has locals worried about traffic worsening at an already congested intersection.

The 325-unit apartment complex to be called Pine Ridge Commons is proposed for the Magnolia Square shopping center at the northeast corner of Pine Ridge and Goodlette-Frank roads and would replace the vacant space where a Sweetbay grocery store was before closing in February 2013.

“Traffic from the two schools plus local homeowners, coupled with the proposed apartments will surely cause additional congestion, especially during peak hours at that intersection,” said Sheri Gesdorf, who is an 18-year resident of Naples and Realtor with Downing Frye Realty Inc. “Add in the ‘high season’ vehicles and it will be unbearable December through April.”

The county approved the use of that corner for a mixed-use project at a Board of County Commissioners meeting last month, but the site development plan has not yet been submitted as of Oct. 8.

The property, owned by Barron Collier Companies, currently houses the Naples Trust building, Starbucks, the Quarles and Brady building, and other small offices.

County planning officials argue that bringing more residential units in town will do the opposite and alleviate the amount of traffic, making it more convenient for employees to commute to work.

“From a planning standpoint we think it is going to have a positive effect on traffic in that area,” said Collier County Planning Director Mike Bosi.

Bosi believes adding more than 300 new rental apartments to an area that has over 25,000 employment opportunities will reduce travel time for workers while also tackling the issue of housing availability in Collier for service personnel.

“When we place residential units in closer proximity toward where job creation centers are, then we have an opportunity to reduce the trip length that people have to endure to get to their house from their job,” he said.

According to a traffic impact statement presented during a Board of County Commissioners meeting last month, the new complex would bring 24-hour two-way volume down by over a thousand vehicles.

But the results of the traffic study have some local residents scratching their heads.

“Building 325 apartments there helps address the lack of rentals in the area but causes a traffic problem … it doesn’t appear to be a balanced trade-off,” Gesdorf said.

Bosi explained that commercial properties typically bring more traffic in, but adding residential units to the corner would lessen the amount of traffic during the day while residents are at work.

And the proposed Pine Ridge Commons apartments are only one of 12 other multi-family complexes that are currently planned for Collier, according to county planning documents.

But it is uncertain if any of them will be considered affordable housing.

“None of these are set aside as affordable by deed restriction, but I think the market is going to regulate some of them to be reasonable,” said Collier County Planning Commission Chairman Mark Strain.

Collier currently has about 12,000 apartment units, and Strain says nearly 4,000 new ones will be coming online within the next year or two.

As for the apartments planned for Pine Ridge Commons, Bosi said the rent hasn’t been determined yet.

“We don’t know what the specific price point is going to be for these units, but as we add more units, we help positively affect the supply and demand curve,” Bosi said. “And right now, we have an under-supply commodity of multi-family units in this market, and the more we can supply of that commodity, the better it’s going to be for the overall rents they can demand.”

Of the dozen complexes planned, Strain said he believes Milano Lakes near Collier Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road will likely house essential service personnel and may offer affordable housing.

Pricing listed on Milano Lakes’ website show one- to three-bedroom options with prices between $1,360 and $1,890 a month, which is more affordable than the luxury apartments at Inspira at Lely Resort that has rentals starting the low $2,000s.

“What a conundrum that is in our area,” Gesdorf said. “We certainly need housing for our teachers, contractors, emergency services and hospitality workers, etc., and even recent college graduates returning to Naples.”

With new commercial developments like Arthrex and Seed to Table, which collectively plan to employ nearly 1,000 people, the need for more housing in Collier continues to grow.

“We never looked at where they were going versus the need for the housing that their (Arthrex) 560 new people would need, and likewise we didn’t necessarily do that for the way Seed to Table came in,” he said.

Projects like the apartments at Pine Ridge Commons put people closer to work, so allowing apartments to come to some urban areas will cut down traffic, he added.

Strain said another solution to minimize traffic is to build more commercial projects such as grocery and hardware stores in East Naples.

“If we find adequate locations out east because the rooftops are already going in, then those people aren’t going to come into town for shopping; they will do it out there,” he said. “That’s one of the ways we can actually save our road system.”

Apartments coming to Collier

Springs at Sabal Bay

Ave Maria Apartment

Inspira at Lely Resort

Journey’s End

Milano Lakes

Briarwood Apartments

Legacy Naples New Hope Ministries

Addison Place

Pine Ridge Commons

I-75/Alligator Alley PUD

Courthouse Shadows PUD

Livingston Road/Golden Gate Parkway Residential Subdistrict

Article last accessed on October 15, 2018 here. A print-ready version is available here.