Collier, Charlotte properties included in $84.5M state purchase of conservation land

Naples, Fort Myers and Charlotte

The owners of the recently completed Fort Myers apartment complex The Orchard at Portofino Vineyards have obtained a $65 bridge loan on the property. A portion of the proceeds, $49.5 million, will go toward paying of a construction loan, says Berkadia, which secured and announced the financing for Prime Group of Hollywood. MF1 provided the two-year, floating-rate loan. The Orchard is a 264-unit garden style apartment complex at 9920 Portofino Vineyards Dive, just off Three Oaks Parkway. The complex was built last year and received its temporary certificate of occupancy last month. It is currently 28% occupied. The community is the second phase of a 70-acre master-planned community Prime Group is developing. When complete, it will include apartments, townhouses and single-family residences for rent. The first phase, The Grove at Portofino Vineyards, was finished in 2020 and has 312 garden-style apartments. The Woodlands at Portofino Vineyards, the final phase, will be made up of 202 townhouses and single-family homes for rent and is expected to be delivered later this year. Berkadia’s Brad Williamson, Kyle Ryan, Mitch Sinberg, Scott Wadler and Matt Robbins secured the loan for Prime.

The Florida Cabinet and Gov. Ron DeSantis have approved $84.9 million in funding to preserve 19,846 acres across seven properties, including two in Charlotte and Collier counties. The properties are part of the state’s Wildlife Corridor, a network of 18 million acres of connected lands and waters. Of that acreage, 10 million is permanently protected. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation says this most recent funding closes “critical gaps while safeguarding the state's wildlife, water resources and working lands.” In Collier, 2,577 acres were bought within the Caloosahatchee Big Cypress Corridor for $18 million from Tamiami Citrus. The property helps to build connectivity between the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve to Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area, says the foundation. In Charlotte, a conservation easement for 3,722 acres was bought from Ryals Citrus and Cattle, a primarily family-run a cow-calf operation, for $13.2 million. Of that, the foundation says, $6.6 million may be provided through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The property is adjacent to another property bought in 2023. It protects the Prairie Creek, a headwater of the Peace River. In addition to the Collier and Charlotte properties, land was preserved in Osceola, Putnam, Hendry and Lake counties.