Branching out

When your real estate company is synonymous with the county in which it has been headquartered for more than a century, it could be a challenge to expand geographically.

But that's just what Barron Collier Cos. — whose namesake founded Collier County and from where the company has been based since 1911 — is considering.

Blake Gable, a fourth-generation Collier family member who became CEO earlier this year, says the company for the first time is looking to expand beyond the borders of Collier County.