[birdiebill]

There is a lot of gloom and doom discussed here. While we all have to look out for ourselves, conspiracy ideas and theories seem to abound. Hacienda Hills and Katie Belles ceased to make a profit. Hacienda Hills building needed a very expensive upgrade if it was to exist. But in the four years we have been here, we were never impressed with it as a restaurant. Never ate there for dinner. Ate there numerous times for lunch after golf, but service was slow. Limited menu. Never crowded. Numerous changes of management. No one of us knows the number of units, number or size of buildings. We just know there will be age restricted apartments, amenities open for everyone, and a restaurant. Why not wait and see what the plans are before becoming so negative towards the developer? Likewise Katie Belles; never went there. Any business has to be supported by customers to stay in business. Restaurants can not survive on old people wanting a fine dining experience but only willing to pay fast food prices.

The comments about numerous commercial properties being vacant cause me to wonder where these tremendous number of vacancies exist. Brownwood has a few, but no developer would be building as many new commercial properties there if he and his advisers did not believe they would be able to fill them. The Lofts will help provide customers as well as the southern area via Megisson Road and the MMP over Brownwood Bridge. I am not familiar with all commercial areas but Colony, Pinellas, Lake Deaton Plaza, Lake Sumter Landing do not have many vacancies. The developer would rather have a tenant at “reasonable” rent than to have a retail site vacant. The developer can not just open a business. His retail rents have to be competitive with the retail rents in the local area. A prospective tenant has to decide the local population will support his business; will these retirees part with their hard earned money to support my business?

The differences we see in the business model may have as much to do with the people who will be retiring in the next few years having different preferences in living style and in retirement activities than those of us who have retired in the past 15 to 20 years. I personally like the recently shared developer’s vision for the Southern area. The medical center complex, the added charter school campus, the sports complex, the family living area for individuals who work in the Villages, as well as the conventional age restricted single family homes villages.

I often wonder if the Covid19 pandemic with its social distancing, masks, restricted activities, lack of entertainment at the squares, etc have affected all of our minds in a negative way. Conspiracy theories abound. So many have become exceedingly negative. I believe things will return to normal; don’t know when, but we will try to keep positive and choose to be happy with what we can do and not focus on what we cannot.