Naples will ‘suspend’ decision to redevelop auto repair shop property

The Naples Community Redevelopment Agency will refrain from reviewing developers’ proposals for the transformation. real estate of an old auto repair shop into affordable housing, decided to rent out the building while considering options.

The City Council, serving as the CRA, agreed Nov. 6 to use CBRE as leasing agent for the city-owned 0.58-acre property at 160-190 10th St. He also agreed to use CRA funds to pay utility bills.

“We’re trying to monetize the asset that we have while we figure out what to do with it long term,” City Manager Jay Budheshwar told the CRA. “We can just leave it there, or we could bring some revenue to the city with something that makes sense.”

In February, the city, using CRA funds, purchased the 8,960-square-foot auto repair shop for $4.9 million. The goal is to build affordable housing for teachers, police officers and other essential service workers within the city. The council wants to target those making between $62,580 and $125,160, which is between 60% and 120% of the Collier County median income of $104,300.

CBRE was hired in September 2023, with the Council agreeing to spend up to $100,000 on various tasks. A Naples real estate company has been asked to evaluate and secure the property for additional parking, open space and redevelopment or affordable housing development.

This is the first property purchased by the 30-year-old CRA and is located off Central Avenue between US 41 and Goodlette-Frank Road in the CRA’s district, which is bounded by North Seventh Avenue, the Gordon River, South Sixth Avenue and South Third Street. The CRA is funded by taxes on homeowners and businesses in the county.

In June, the CRA agreed to pay CBRE $3,500 to explore options for developing the site consistent with existing zoning, the city’s comprehensive plan or the state’s Live Local Act, and to consider adding half an 80-foot right-of-way on Second Avenue North to increase density and units of measurement. The existing zoning and comprehensive plan allows for 11 townhomes, 12 if the right-of-way is cleared. However, they would have to be sold as “fee simple” – something most affordable housing seekers can’t afford.

In August, the CBRE team, which includes Estero-based commercial group Trinity and Miami-based Gridics, recommended a mixed-use concept with 3,600 square feet of commercial space and parking on the ground floor, and 26 affordable apartments above. This requires amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan.

CRA vice-chair Linda Penniman wondered whether anyone would want to rent for just a year. But Dan O’Berski of Trinity Commercial Group said several parties have expressed interest after a year (baseline) or longer, and the city would have the right to terminate the agreement.

“We’re talking probably about 24 to 36 months before development starts, so we’ll be trying to use the most flexible timeline we can without completely reducing potential revenue,” O’Berski said, adding why the proposed rent structure is low, $20 per square foot.

If Trinity finds a tenant, they will receive a 4% commission, but with a co-broker the commission will be 6%. O’Berski said rents nearby are between $40 and $60 per square foot, but it’s not a finished space, so lower rents allow for improvements.

The building, built in 1976, has three 20-foot roller doors, one office and two bathrooms and was last used as a vintage store.

Chairman Ray Christman said Michigan-based American Community Developers, which manages the city’s low-income George Washington Carver Apartments, is interested in expanding and will respond to the city’s requests for proposals once they take that step. Penniman called this option “compelling.”

It is the only U.S. Housing and Urban Development Section 8 complex in the county.

Mayor Teresa Heitmann said she is nervous about moving forward without looking at the city’s comprehensive plan, maximum heights and understanding what has happened in the area. The increased density would allow for a three-story building up to 42 feet tall (maximum for commercial projects) or more for mixed-use and residential projects.

“I want to approach this very carefully because this is the last area in our area where we could make radical changes,” Heitmann said, noting that residents of Naples Square, a mixed-use development, have complained about the inconvenience of living above restaurants and businesses.

Christman noted that they needed more information about comprehensive plan and zoning changes to facilitate development and did not want to “open the barn door” to increase population density over a wider area.

“We just need to be aware of it and understand the implications,” he said, adding that they should not continue to solicit proposals from developers.

Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison wasn’t in favor of freeing up rights-of-way that flood to make more land available – or increasing the density beyond 12 units – but Christman said they need to be flexible.

“If we want to accommodate new workers at this site or any other site … in the CRA, we’re going to have to have some flexibility on density,” he said.

Naples, which unlike Collier County is developed, has little low-income housing. Availability for the 70-unit George Washington Carver Apartments expires in 2037, and the contract for the 72-unit Jasmine Cay Apartments expires in 2044.

Naples Comprehensive Health reported that seven to nine job offers are rejected weekly due to housing costs, and a 2023 survey of 1,134 NCH employees found that nearly 30% live outside of Collier because they can’t afford it , 44.42% are considering moving to another location in the South West. Florida and 40.3% may leave the area. A Collier County Public Schools survey this year found that half of employees work a second job to survive and 64% fear they will have to leave the district because of housing costs.

O’Berski said any income-restricted apartment will result in a waiting list, no matter its size. “It’s such an overwhelming demand,” he said, noting that there are 2,200 people on the waiting list for a recent construction project in Fort Myers.

The CRA agreed to “suspend” its decision to continue seeking bids from developers to determine their options and lease the building for now.

“We know that Collier County, including the city of Naples, has an affordable housing problem,” Christman said. “We are part of this problem, and what steps, if any, do we want to take to be part of the solution?”