Corkscrew Grove Villages

Corkscrew Grove Villages will be made up of two 1,500-acre villages accompanied by 6,000 acres of permanent conservation areas. Each village will include approximately 4,500 homes, housing for our region’s growing population; 280,000 square feet of commercial space, designed to accommodate a diverse mix of retail, dining, office, medical and light industrial opportunities; 70,000 square feet of civic space, which can be used for schools, churches and emergency services; and a wide range of amenities, including parks, trails, lakes and preserves. While the long-term vision for Corkscrew Grove Villages includes two villages, Alico’s current application with Collier County only seeks approval for the East Village.

Corkscrew Grove Villages is located on approximately 4,660 acres at the northwest corner of Collier County on the border of Lee and Hendry counties.

As envisioned, Corkscrew Grove Villages will not only provide future residents with ample opportunities to live, work and play in a growing part of Collier County, but will also enhance public infrastructure, permanently protect thousands of aces of sensitive land, and restore critical flow ways. The villages will provide significant economic benefit to the region, and improvements will come at no additional cost to Collier County taxpayers.

There will be approximately 9,000 homes in total, or 4,500 homes per village. Offerings will include a variety of options suitable for working families, essential workers and retirees. Corkscrew Grove Villages will also include approximately 375 affordable housing units per village, ensuring that our essential workforce will be able to live and work in Collier County.

With approximately 560,000 square feet in total of commercial space, or 280,000 square feet per village, Corkscrew Grove Villages will offer a dynamic blend of retail, dining, office, medical and light industrial opportunities. Designed as a complete, connected community, Alico is thoughtfully integrating residential, commercial and civic spaces to create a place where people can live and work, all while easing traffic congestion and enhancing convenience.

Collier County and Southwest Florida continue to experience significant growth, particularly in eastern Collier County. Corkscrew Grove is ideally situated at the intersection of Collier, Lee and Hendry counties, providing future residents with easy access Naples, Fort Myers, Miami and Tampa through links to I-75 in Collier and Lee counties and State Road 80 in Hendry County

The Corkscrew Grove property is also located within the Immokalee Water and Sewer District service area. Alico is actively working with the water and sewer district to coordinate a service expansion into the Corkscrew Grove area.

Alico has begun a multi-year planning effort for Corkscrew Grove Villages, submitting an application to Collier County for local approval for the first of two villages in March 2025. This process is anticipated to take approximately one year, with the final decision by the Collier Board of County Commissioners expected in 2026. Community members will have ample opportunity to provide public input throughout this process.

Additionally, Alico will need to secure permits from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the Army Corps of Engineers for both villages within Corkscrew Grove before development can begin. Construction on the first village could begin in 2028 or 2029.

As part of its long-term planning efforts, Alico took the proactive step in January 2025 to seek legislative approval from the Florida Legislature to establish the Corkscrew Grove Stewardship District. Once approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Corkscrew Grove Stewardship District will assist Alico in its efforts to effectively finance infrastructure, help restore and manage natural areas and oversee the administration of the master planned communities and lands within the District.

Stewardship districts like the one being proposed by Alico are independent special districts authorized to plan finance, construct, operate and maintain public infrastructure in planned developments. These kinds of districts are common, and are used in a variety of communities, such as Ave Maria and Lakewood Ranch, to support high-quality and efficient infrastructure. Stewardship districts are created around the concept of growth paying for itself.

Alico is deeply committed to conservation efforts and has a long history of working with state and local governments, as well as environmental organizations to protect environmentally sensitive land. Over the past 40 years, Alico has transferred lands that have become part of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW), Tiger Creek Preserve and Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

Alico’s commitment to conservation continues as part of the Corkscrew Grove Villages project. As part of the plan, Alico will place more than 6,000 acres of sensitive land into permanent conservation.

To learn more about Alico’s commitment to conservation, click here.

Alico anticipates that the ownership of the conservation land will be held by the Corkscrew Grove Stewardship District or a third party and in some instances, the land could be used for agricultural purposes. Corkscrew Grove Stewardship District will be responsible for the management of conservation lands. These lands will be managed in perpetuity at no cost to Collier County taxpayers.

In 2023, Alico sold more than 17,000 acres of land, commonly referred to as Devil’s Garden, to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as part of the Florida Forever program. Located in Hendry County, the Devil’s Garden provides critical connectivity between existing conservation lands.

Since Devil’s Garden was added to the Florida Forever Priority List in 2003, Alico has either sold or entered into easements to protect more than 46,807 acres. This land, combined with the more than 6,000 acres to be placed in conservation as part of the Corkscrew Grove Villages proposal, supports the creation of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Specifically, both SSA 11 and SSA 22 permanently preserve significant segments of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. SSA 22 adding 1,295 acres and is 2.8 miles long, north to south, and more than 1.8 miles wide at its widest point with an average width of .71 miles. This critical portion of the corridor will be added at no cost to the taxpayer. To learn more about the Florida Wildlife Corridor or to see a map of the program, click here.

The RLSA is a planning and zoning overlay district approved by Collier County in 2002 for approximately 185,000 acres of land in eastern Collier County. The RLSA is an innovative, incentive-based approach to planning and implementing sustainable long-term growth in rural regions. The program has received national recognition and served as a model for rural lands stewardship program elsewhere in Florida. To learn more about Collier County’s Rural Lands Stewardship Area program, click here.

Alico was actively involved in the creation of, and subsequent updates to, the RLSA program. In 2008, Alico committed 3,699 acres as a stewardship sending area in anticipation of the Corkscrew Grove project.

In 2024, Alico expanded its leadership team to include Mitch Hutchcraft as executive vice president of real estate. Mr. Hutchcraft has more than 35 years of real estate experience, including involvement with projects such as Disney’s Celebration, projects with the Bonita Bay Group, value creation at King Ranch and oversight of Everglades restoration project while on the governing board at the South Florida Water Management District.

Additionally, Alico has assembled an experienced team of consulting engineers, environmental scientists, transportation planners, fiscal analysts, land use planners, attorneys, market assessment professionals and community managers to support the project.

In January 2025, Alico announced its citrus operations were ending following the 2025 growing season. Alico Citrus, which holds the company’s citrus operations, has faced increased financial challenges from citrus greening disease and other environmental factors, such as significant hurricane damage, for many seasons. Approximately 3,460 citrus acres will remain in citrus through 2026.

Alico remains committed to the Florida agriculture industry through diversified operations on nearly all of its land holdings following the citrus production transition.

To learn more about Alico’s decision regarding citrus operations, click here.