Tim Monahan's Catholic colony and college in the sunbelt got the green light today.
The Southwest Florida Planning Council approved plans today for Ave Maria University and its adjacent town.Preliminary site clearing is already underway on 5,000 acres of field land in Collier County just south of Immokalee and 25 miles northeast of Bonita Springs.
The Roman Catholic University will eventually have 6,000 students. The town, also called Ave Maria, will have 11,000 diverse dwellings when built out, expected in 10 to 20 years.
First phases of the university and town will open together in the summer of 2007.
It will be interesting to see how this project unfolds. Are bars allowed in Catholic college towns? A FedEx Kinko's? Only time will tell.