Gainesville, FL – December 2025 – The Collier Companies is proud to announce that Nathan S. Collier has donated 17 acres of wooded land, appraised at $3.84 million, to the City of Gainesville to establish the Courtland Alden Collier Preserve. This generous gift honors Nathan’s father, Courtland Alden Collier, who served 18 years as a Gainesville City Commissioner and twice as Mayor, leaving a lasting legacy of civic service.

The newly designated preserve, located along Southwest 62nd Boulevard near Interstate 75, will provide protected green space for the community while conserving the natural environment. The land, currently zoned as Planned Development, ensures that its ecological and recreational value will be preserved for generations to come.

At The Collier Companies, we believe in strengthening communities not only through thoughtfully designed homes but also through investments that enhance the quality of life and honor the legacy of those who have shaped them. Nathan Collier’s donation reflects a commitment to both conservation and civic leadership, reinforcing the family’s enduring dedication to Gainesville and its residents. A land dedication ceremony is planned for 2026 to formally honor the creation of the Courtland Alden Collier Preserve and celebrate Courtland Alden Collier’s enduring legacy of civic service

 

About The Collier Companies:

Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, The Collier Companies is a 50+ year old multifamily owner/manager with communities in Florida and Georgia that develops exclusively for its own account. The Collier Companies’ portfolio is comprised of over 13,000 apartment homes. Founded by Nathan S. Collier in 1972, The Collier Companies is unique in its dedication to its Communities, Residents and Team Members as evidenced by its distinctive long term hold period and its Mission Statement: Proudly making your home the heart of our business while proudly supporting Team Members to become their best selves.  

 

Nathan S. Collier is best known for endowing the University of Florida’s Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estate Program, consistently ranked #1 for public universities. Nathan also founded the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability through the UF’s College of Journalism & Communication, making the largest gift ever received to the College to fund investigative journalism. The Collier Prize is awarded annually at the White House Correspondent Association Dinner in Washington, D.C. He also founded The Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism, administered by the NYU Carter Journalism Institute’s Ethics and Journalism Initiative (EJI). In addition to being a CPA and a Building Contractor, Nathan S. Collier is a proud triple Gator, with a bachelor’s in finance, an MBA, and a JD. A devout believer in continuous education, Nathan S. Collier is a graduate of HBS’s OPM25 as well as having attended Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation and continues to annually take a week of ExecEd at HBS through CEO. Nathan S. Collier currently teaches both Leadership as well as Real Estate Finance, Development, and Investment at the University of Florida’s Levin School of Law and at the Warrington College of Business.

 

The Collier Companies continues its 2X journey to double in size in the coming decade with exciting developments in progress, each project designed to reflect our commitment to quality, innovation, and community. As part of this momentum, we are actively progressing toward the completion of 4,345 apartment homes. Of these, 2,904 homes have been completed, 832 are currently under construction, and 1,273 are in development. Upcoming communities include Monarch in Fort Myers, FL, Alon in Sarasota, FL, Verve in Wesley Chapel, FL, Elora in Vero Beach, FL, Azure in Pompano Beach, FL, Nova at One Nexton in Summerville, SC, a community in Wilmington, NC, and a community in Naples, FL.

For more information about The Collier Companies, please visit colliercompanies.com. Nathan Collier has blogged on personal and professional leadership twice a week for over 15 years at NSCBlog.com