Construction has officially begun on Clara Landings, an 84-unit affordable housing development at 4470 Santa Barbara Boulevard in Naples, with the project's developer announcing both financial closing and the start of building work this week. The $35.9 million community is designed for families across a range of incomes and is expected to be finished by spring 2028.
The development, formally known as Clara Landings — an Ekos Community, comes from McDowell Housing Partners, as reported by Florida YIMBY. According to yieldpro.com, the company announced the financial closing and start of construction on the project this week. The site will hold a single four-story, elevator-served building rather than a sprawling garden-style layout, maximizing the footprint for the 84 planned apartments.
Those apartments break down into 60 one-bedroom, one-bath units averaging 730 square feet and 24 two-bedroom, two-bath units averaging 972 square feet, per the same account. Rents will be tied to three area median income tiers for the Naples metro area: 13 apartments reserved for households earning 30% of AMI, 32 units for those at 60% of AMI, and 39 units for households earning 70% of AMI.
Why Affordability Keeps Driving New Construction
Collier County's housing cost pressures have been documented across several years of research. A University of Florida Shimberg Center analysis cited in an October 2025 report found that about a third of Collier County households are cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to colliercountyhousing.com. A separate 2024 report citing the Zillow Repeat Rent Index found that renting an apartment in the Naples area required a full-time wage of $35.77 an hour, as reported by naplespress.com.
Older data points to a persistent, longer-running problem. A 2017 community needs assessment found a lack of affordable homes for sale and rent, along with a shortage of subsidized housing for elderly and low-income residents in the county, per colliercf.org. That same assessment cited a 2016 estimate showing 20.5% of households were cost-burdened and 19.5% were severely cost-burdened.
Financing Draws on Hurricane Ian Recovery Funds
Clara Landings' financing package includes tax-exempt bonds issued by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, according to the seed reporting from Florida YIMBY. It also includes $10 million in CDBG-DR subordinate financing, funds the state awarded for areas impacted by Hurricane Ian. First Horizon Community Investment Group provided tax credit equity for the project, while R4 Capital is serving as both construction and permanent lender.
W. Patrick McDowell, chairman and CEO of McDowell Housing Partners, said Collier County urgently needs more high-quality, affordable homes for working families. He said Clara Landings reflects the company's commitment to meeting that need and expanding housing opportunities for people who help the community thrive, according to Florida YIMBY's reporting.
On the design side, Fugleberg Koch is serving as architect of record, Kimley-Horn Engineering is the civil engineer, and DeAngelis Diamond is the general contractor, per yieldpro.com. The apartments will incorporate Energy Star-certified appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures, SEER 15 HVAC systems and LED lighting, and the project is designed to achieve Bronze certification under the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard, according to Florida YIMBY. Planned amenities include a leasing office, a community clubroom, a covered outdoor terrace and a tot lot.
Part of a Broader Wave of Naples Affordable Projects
Clara Landings is one of several affordable developments moving through the pipeline in Collier County. McDowell Housing Partners is also behind Ekos Creekside, a $63 million, 160-apartment project at 6360 Collier Boulevard in Naples that the Business Observer describes as the first development in Collier County delivered under Florida's Live Local Act. That project will serve households earning 30% to 80% of area median income, with rents set more than 30% below market, and is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2027.
Other recent and ongoing efforts include the 72-unit Ekos Santabarbara in East Naples, which includes apartments for low-income families, and the 304-unit Allura apartments in North Naples, which set aside 31 units for low-income individuals and families, both noted by naplespress.com. A mixed-use development approved in East Naples last month will add 30 apartments, 25 of which will carry income limits, according to marconews.com.
County officials have also moved to encourage more of this kind of construction. Collier County approved new affordable-housing incentives in 2025 that allow activity centers to build up to 25 residential units per acre, up from the previous limit of 16, if affordable housing is incorporated into the project, per colliercountyhousing.com. McDowell Housing Partners says it has secured competitive funding for 22 affordable communities totaling more than 3,100 units across Florida and Texas, according to yieldpro.com.
