Minto moves dirt in Naples

NAPLES — Minto Communities has started site development on a 2,416-acre tract it acquired in December for $68 million.

The new community, to be called the Isles at Collier Preserve, is the former Sabal Bay site that Collier Enterprises has owned for decades east of downtown Naples. Minto, a Canadian residential developer, acquired the property just as the residential construction market is rebounding.

Minto plans to open an on-site sales center in the fall and complete the first model home by early 2014. Plans call for a total of 1,600 homes overlooking waterfront and forested areas. Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve borders the community on the south side, and half the development will be dedicated to the natural habitat.