Hardy Returns

Paul Hardy is well known in Southwest Florida real estate circles for developing upscale master-planned communities such as Grandezza, Olde Cypress, The Strand and Worthington.

In all, Hardy developed more than 5,000 homes on more than 5,000 acres in Lee and Collier counties.

But more people may remember Hardy for being ensnared in the “Stadium Naples” corruption case and subsequent trials that rocked Collier County in the late 1990s and early 2000s. State prosecutors dropped racketeering charges against Hardy after he maintained his innocence, but not before he says he spent $1 million to defend himself.