There is a place for monasteries within Christianity, and it seems that Ave Maria will serve this function. It's one of the few schools that I will consider sending my children to.
From what I've seen, Ave Maria University will not be a monastery. The students at the school go out into the community to do service, as tutors in the local schools, to witness and pray at a local abortion clinic, and helping Habitat for Humanity. There is plenty of interaction between the towns of Naples and Immokalee and the school. I imagine that will continue when the town of Ave Maria is built.
I agree, but Ave Maria is not conceived as a monastery, is it? It is supposed to be a regular town with lay people in worldy economic pursuits. The only thing that will be absent is legal protections our government erected for sin.