At the August 13 Board of County Commissioners Meeting, approval was given to sign two (2) grant funding agreements between Collier County and Renaissance Hall at Old Course, LLC, for the development of affordable workforce housing at the Golden Gate Golf Course property. They will be used for the following purposes:
• Agreement ARP21-24 for $8,916,402.76 for pre-development and construction
• Agreement ARP21-25 in the amount of $1,130,551 for impact fees associated with Phase I
These funding agreements will be taken from the $74,762,701 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) allocated to Collier County. The agreement with Renaissance Hall emphasized the use and allocation of these funds to complete Phase I of the project, which consists of up to 252 new units of affordable housing for an affordability period of at least twenty (20) years.
The table below shows the deadlines for obligating and expending grant funds for Phase I. With the developer’s history of requesting funding extensions, it is critical that funds are obligated by the end of the calendar year 2024.
To highlight the grant contributions the County has made so far for this project, the following table from the October 24, 2023, Executive Summary itemizes the County’s grant contributions to this project (phases 1 and 2), which amounted to $20,721,422, inclusive of land.
The approval of these two new funding agreements means the total SLFRF contribution toward Phase I is now $10,046,953.76. Phase 2 for Senior Housing was included and approved in the solicitation but has not been contracted, funded, or even mentioned for completion.
While it was indicated in the Invitation to Negotiate solicitation that State, County, or Federal grant funding may be used to support the project, it is important to consider how much of these growing costs should be funded by grants or the developer. Considering our many community needs, providing additional funds vs. allocation to other possible projects should be considered. We continue to monitor all projects on Golf Course.