Making home affordable?
Arthrex seeks approval for transitional apartment complex to attract employees
North Naples-based medical device manufacturer Arthrex plans to build contemporary transitional corporate housing in North Naples to make it easier to attract and retain employees.
North Naples-based medical device manufacturer Arthrex plans to build contemporary transitional corporate housing in North Naples to make it easier to attract and retain employees.
It’s the first petition under the zoning category of transitional corporate housing to come before the county.
“Arthrex and other employers, candidly, are struggling in getting employees or people to relocate to Collier County to come in and work,” Arthrex land-use attorney Richard Yovanovich told the Collier County Planning Commission on Sept. 20, adding that Arthrex has 300 vacancies. “One of the reasons is the sticker shock at what it costs to either rent or buy a unit.
“And they believe—and other employers believe—that if they can offer this transitional housing opportunity, people will come, they’ll work here and then they’ll find a place where they wish to live and reside in Collier County,” he added.
Planning commissioners unanimously recommended that the 2.06acre site at 208 Palm River Blvd. be rezoned from multifamily to Residential Planned-Unit Development and to amend the county’s Growth Management Plan to add the Palm River Corporate Housing Residential Subdistrict. It would allow up to 41 furnished rentals—eight more than currently allowed—for Arthrex employees and others relocating here, on assignment or undergoing training.
If there’s a vacancy and Arthrex doesn’t need it, the apartment would be available to other county employers, including NCH, which once used the property for transitional employees, such as traveling nurses.
A new presence in Palm River
Property records show an Arthrex affiliate, Palm River Accommodations LCC, paid $5.75 million in May 2023 for the property. It currently houses a 12-unit multifamily apartment complex in three buildings, with two stories over garages, that were built in 1989; they will be demolished. It’s north of Immokalee Road, near LaPlaya Golf Club in Palm River, and the staff noted that the multifamily development would be consistent with the surrounding neighborhood, the goals and policies of the growth management plan and state statutes.
Current zoning allows 33 units and a 75-foot-high building, but Arthrex is seeking eight additional units in a tiered five-story, 65-foot-high building— four stories over parking. The recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners for a public hearing and final approval, and the land change must be accepted by the state Department of Commerce.
The amendment and PUD applications define transitional corporate housing as renting a furnished apartment, condo or home on a temporary basis to employees of companies located in Collier County while seeking permanent housing as an alternative to a traditional apartment, hotel or an extended hotel stay for a minimum of 30 days. Florida statutes allow local governments to adopt small-scale amendments to growth management plans if they affect less than 50 acres.
County officials say Arthrex’s economic benefit to the county totals $2 million. It employs 4,500 in Southwest Florida and 3,800 in Collier County, but Arthrex says it “consistently averages double-digit annual employee growth” and the housing crisis has made it difficult to fill positions.
Staying longer in transition
The length of stay by employees in Arthrex’s 40 current transitional housing properties has increased from about 60 days or less to more than 135 due to challenges finding permanent housing. Arthrex has been using transitional housing units countywide over the past two years, which allows employees to save up for a down payment or a deposit for a permanent dwelling. It added more after Sept. 28, 2022, to help employees displaced by Hurricane Ian.
Arthrex projects transitional housing requests will increase by at least 10% annually, and says that even after building the Palm River transitional units, it will need more. Yovanovich said nine months is the longest employees usually stay in Arthrex’s transitional housing.
“Providing interim corporate housing, which allows many employees to live near each other, allows new employees to meet other similarly situated employees and allows them to assimilate into the Arthrex corporate community,” Arthrex’s petition says. “This type of interim housing also allows them to become familiar with the benefits of living in Collier County. This will result in higher employee satisfaction and assist in retaining employees in Collier County.”
Yovanovich said Arthrex is “thinking outside the box.” The apartments will provide below-market-rate housing for employees at various income levels. Collier County’s market rate ranges from $1,965 monthly for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,379 for a two-bedroom to $2,946 for three bedrooms.
Arthrex’s planner is Q. Grady Minor, engineers are Agnoli Barber & Brundage and JMB Transportation Engineering and the architect is MHK Architecture.
‘A five-story hotel’
Although several Palm River residents emailed concerns, only one neighbor spoke out, a River Royale Condominiums resident who lives closest to the apartments.
“We basically will have had a five-story hotel just plunked in the middle of a pretty quiet residential neighborhood,” said Tim Cannon, a retired Ohio judge whose family bought their home in 1982.
County staff initially recommended denying the project because the county has for several years been requiring developers seeking additional density to reserve 30% of units for affordable housing, which would be 12.3 units for this project. Planning commissioners also cited other concerns, prompting a discussion.
In the end, County Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi called the concept a “unique commodity” and said the county would allow it—with provisions. If just one unit isn’t being used as transitional housing by an employee working within the county, the eight additional units would revert to income-restricted rentals for 30 years at 100% of the area median income (AMI) for singles and families. Collier’s AMI is $104,300. At 100%, AMI, rentals would range from $1,958 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,348 for two bedrooms to $2,713 for three.
Palm River Corporate Housing will have to submit annual reports to the county Community & Human Services Division to prove compliance— that employees working in Collier are staying from 30 days to a year, a period that could be extended if more time is needed to build a home or finalize a lease. It could be audited, or if the county questions the length of stay, it could go to the Code Enforcement Board.
Noting that the county requires 30% of units be affordable when seeking increased density, Bosi said this new concept could be explained to county commissioners: “We recognize that there has to be somewhat of an adjustment to the board’s policy.”