Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers has begun construction on employee housing that’s below market price and conveniently close to campus.
The university says the housing is an effort to combat the high housing costs in Southwest Florida that have hampered the school's ability to recruit and retain employees.
The development, Eagle View Village, is the first development of its kind among Florida’s 12 state universities. It is being built about 2 miles north of campus on university-owned land near the West Lake Village student housing complex. The project’s first phase of 74 units is scheduled for completion in December.
Faculty hired from outside Southwest Florida will have priority access to Eagle View Village homes, with annual leases renewable for up to two additional years.
The project aligns with FGCU’s 2024-29 strategic plan, which includes a goal to strengthen organizational culture and commitment to employees.
“Over the past five years, Southwest Florida has experienced a 28% increase in housing prices, intensifying affordability challenges in south Lee County and affecting our ability to recruit and retain talented faculty and staff,” University President Aysegul Timur said. “Our goal is to provide employees with a high-quality, transitional housing option at approximately 20% below local market rates.”
The $25 million project willl consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom cottages and townhomes. It is being funded primarily from bonds issued by the university's Financing Corporation and a $2.3 million contribution from the university.
Research commissioned by the university in January 2025 found that the market “continues to underdeliver moderately priced rental options, compounding affordability challenges in south Lee County.”
“We have experienced a lot of sticker shock when faculty come down here and realize that Southwest Florida is a beautiful place to live, but it’s also expensive,” said Katherine Green, vice president of university advancement. “So we thought that if we could give them a place to land for a period of time that is beautiful and convenient and gives them time to figure out where they want to be permanently, that that might help us attract the very best faculty and hold on to them.”
