A Marco Island restaurant owner has become the first to take steps under a new measure to convert the upper floors of his commercial building into affordable housing for employees.
Joseph Oliviero, the owner of Joey’s Pizza & Pasta on North Collier Boulevard, has applied for a permit under a new city measure aimed at addressing the island’s housing crisis. If approved, the project would convert the second floor of one of his three buildings into three workforce housing units.
“My employees are telling me that they are seeing their rents have almost doubled in the past five years,” Oliviero said.
Oliviero, who has lived on Marco Island for 52 years, said the plan is part of a larger effort to provide affordable living spaces for workers.
“This would be just a small step to try to bring some housing and some employees,” Oliviero said. “We need an island-wide program to do it. Otherwise, we’re going to run out of workers,” he added.
The project comes as rent and home prices in the area continue to climb. According to a report from Florida Realtors, the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island region had the highest median single-family home price in Florida in November, at $770,000.