[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Altavia

By definition Amenities are things funded by the bonds and are built first.

This is incorrect, the bonds build the infrastructure needed to support the community but not the amenities.

The amenities are funded by the developer who then owns and operates them as a portion of their business portfolio. In that construction cost is also a proportionate share of the infrastructure cost. The amenities are not a part of the respective neighboring CDD. The CDD lines are drawn around these properties and exclude them.

If the bond funds were used to build the amenities, those amenities would then be a part of the CDD issuing the bonds. But they aren't, so they don't.

The bonds do, however, make the amenities possible. The developer is able to recoup the development costs quickly by billing the costs to the CDD who then pays them from the funds raised by the sale of the bonds. The developer doesn't have their money tied up in water lines, retention ponds, roads, and sewer pipes for the duration of the sale cycle. This frees up cash to allow the building of the amenities. Without this methodology, we would be no different than most other communities where the salesman showing a lot would make statements like "over there will be the green for the 7th hole that will be built next year", something that frequently fails to materialize due to cash flow issues.

The discussion of the bonds could go on for quite a while, their merits and their pitfalls can be argued ad nauseum, but some things are very clear:
1) they are highly valued by investors and usually sell out within hours of being offered.
2) You will pay for these infrastructure costs one way or the other, either as a separate bond like we do here in The Villages or as a cost rolled into the final cost of the home (the developer NEVER pays any of these costs, they pass them through).
3) The cash flow position created by the issuing of bonds has had a very positive impact on the development of The Villages, and I would argue that without them, The Villages would not and could not exist as the successful development that it is today.