The Villages 06-07-20 Construction Update - North Side of the Turnpike

[Goldwingnut]

Here's my latest video update on construction.

This video takes a bird’s eye view of the construction happening on the north/east side of the Florida Turnpike from just south of US-301 to CR470 in Lake County. The video is about 10 flights carefully flown over a week and their video stitched together. Weather conditions were near perfect and allowed for great aircraft visibility cutting the number of flights needed nearly in half of what was originally planned. As requested by many I’ve added a compass to help with orientation.

If you travel along the Florida Turnpike you will see a tremendous amount of construction that has been going on for over two years now. At 70 MPH it’s a little hard to grasp what is happening and what you are seeing, from a little higher up and at a little slower speed the picture becomes a little clearer. Things are at a point where these areas have or will soon have houses under construction.

All of the areas shown are visible from either the turnpike or other legally accessible areas, this just provides a little different and more interesting view. The video was shot from an altitude of 300 feet about 100 to 150 feet southwest of the south bound lanes, the video was edited to eliminate most of the roadway and traffic from view. There are several drawings shown in the video that were obtained from the public records of the city of Wildwood FL, the city of Leesburg FL, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s websites.

Everything stated in the video is just my opinion and is based on my research. If you have questions please ask them on my YouTube page and do not ask the developer, your realtor, district staff, or anyone else as they have no involvement in this video.
The Villages 06-07-20 Construction Update - North Side of the Turnpike - YouTube (https://youtu.be/p6roLn6TXAY)

[Debfrommaine]

Excellent video of what's happening in the area, full of information. Appreciate your time and knowledge in providing these updates.

[stings]

Thank you for another informative and entertaining video.

[MSchad]

Excellent video again. I also like that you pointed out the developer has kept (hundreds I assume) construction workers employed during these last few months.

[OCsun]

As always, I so enjoy your videos and really appreciate the opportunity to see our community from the air. Thanks!

[Ecuadog]

Thank you, Don. I appreciate what you do.

[JoMar]

In the words of my Dad.....HOLY CRAP!! Did I hear you say two Championship Courses?

[kansasr]

Would you post the public rec doc shown in the beginning of the video which shows the layout of this area? Thx.

[billethkid]

Th videos do an excellent task of displaying, size, complexity of existing and future development.

The scale and scope of "the developer" is truly impressive.

[Kenswing]

Amazing how much expansion is going on. Thanks for another great video.

[Goldwingnut]

In the words of my Dad.....HOLY CRAP!! Did I hear you say two Championship Courses?

Sorry, I may not have been very clear, it is 2 L-shaped 9 hole courses from what I can tell looking at the plans. One going down each side of Bexley Trail.

[Goldwingnut]

Excellent video again. I also like that you pointed out the developer has kept (hundreds I assume) construction workers employed during these last few months.

No, it is thousands of workers that are employed. Several thousands on-site plus several more thousand that work off site (think assembling roof trusses, etc.) and back office support for the field workers. The impact is several layers deep - no workers no customers for the job site food trucks - a dozen drives alone that deliver fuel every day to the trucks on-site for Rainey Construction - supply warehouse workers, and many many more.

The contractors get paid when the work is done, not when the house is sold. The developer is footing the bill to keep everyone working, a huge advantage of having a well run company like The Villages running things. The company (construction/technology) I worked for before retiring 2 years ago did over $31B last year and laid off most of their field staff 2 weeks into the pandemic shutdown, not a very well run company and the reason I retired early.

[Madelaine Amee]

Thank you, great video and so much information. Looking forward to your next one.

[JoMar]

Sorry, I may not have been very clear, it is 2 L-shaped 9 hole courses from what I can tell looking at the plans. One going down each side of Bexley Trail.

I misunderstood, I thought you said there was one earlier in the video plus the one in Bradford. Thanks. Another great view to put stuff in perspective.

[Goldwingnut]

The drawing show a course next to the Water Lily bridge, the championship course at Bradford, and an additional executive course next to the new power substation. Just not 2 championship courses.

[Bay Kid]

Thanks again and again. TVs is awesome.

[champion6]

Thank you!

[rtime]

Don are the drawing available from Wildwood or Sumter County. I follow all the posting in the paper from Southwest Water but they don't have the drawing like you posted.

Thanks for the great shots and time it takes to put these togeather.

[VApeople]

Goldwing, this is my favorite video of all you have posted and my wife and I really enjoyed it.

We often walk and ride our bikes through Bradford and into St. Catherines. We could see the huge expanse of land in the distance but had no idea what is there and what is being planned. We both watched you video very intently and now I think we have a better idea what is happening in that area. You have helped us enjoy our walks and bike rides much more.

[Troy8432]

Thank you Don. My wife and I are still in Virgina and although we've bought a house in Marsh Bend, we haven't moved yet because I am still job hunting. I really look forward to your informative and professional videos and I am fascinated by the amount and speed of work that is occurring in The Villages. I know my question is off subject because the focus of the latest video was the area north of the turnpike, but since I can't be in Florida to see the progress, does anybody have any "eyes on" information regarding the progress of Magnolia Plaza. Last I knew, they were pouring footers and slabs.

[JoMar]

The drawing show a course next to the Water Lily bridge, the championship course at Bradford, and an additional executive course next to the new power substation. Just not 2 championship courses.

Thanks.....any idea why the bridges aren't lighted yet, are they waiting for Water Lily and then have a lighting event?

[Goldwingnut]

Thanks.....any idea why the bridges aren't lighted yet, are they waiting for Water Lily and then have a lighting event?

All of that is under the control of the developer and their staff, I would be the last person in the world they would share that information with...

[Goldwingnut]

Don are the drawing available from Wildwood or Sumter County. I follow all the posting in the paper from Southwest Water but they don't have the drawing like you posted.

Thanks for the great shots and time it takes to put these togeather.

Go to the city of Wildwood website and look at the meeting agendas. The easiest place to find these is the Project Review Committee agenda. You'll have to go back a year or more to find them.

[Debfrommaine]

Thank you Don. My wife and I are still in Virgina and although we've bought a house in Marsh Bend, we haven't moved yet because I am still job hunting. I really look forward to your informative and professional videos and I am fascinated by the amount and speed of work that is occurring in The Villages. I know my question is off subject because the focus of the latest video was the area north of the turnpike, but since I can't be in Florida to see the progress, does anybody have any "eyes on" information regarding the progress of Magnolia Plaza. Last I knew, they were pouring footers and slabs.

Plaza has picked up the pace and am amazed that it is actually starting to look like something. Lots of bring work done, starting to take shape these past few weeks.

[rtime]

Thanks

[Velvet]

Very informative and exciting! It is always such a pleasure to watch your productions, thank you.

[davem4616]

thank you for doing this...your videos are always interesting

[Goldwingnut]

Don are the drawing available from Wildwood or Sumter County. I follow all the posting in the paper from Southwest Water but they don't have the drawing like you posted.

Thanks for the great shots and time it takes to put these togeather.

A lot of the documents are still missing from the Wildwood city website from before last year. They had a website problem last year, you can request them from the city and they have to provide them.