Developer Asking For Approval To Add Apartments In Spanish Springs City Center
 

The Lady Lake Commissioners will discuss on Wed, Feb 17th, 6 pm, at the Town of Lady Lake Town Hall. The readings were tabled from Nov and Jan meetings. Those with concerns about this added population to the city center should contact the Lady Lake Commissioners and town hall and/or attend the meeting and speak up. Hundreds more people added to city center may cause overcrowding, more need for EMT's and police, and for those with PTSD more problems or outburst. Also what happens when those apartment tenants start complaining about the bands playing, do we stop the music?
Developer just give us back our Katie Belles!

I am surprised they are going forward with more apartments. The Lofts starting pre leasing in February last year and as of 2 weeks ago I heard only about 35% of the apartments are leased.

Good Rumor.


:ohdear:

A rumor in The Villages is often a fact that frequent posters deny. Why the constant denials? I once posted in 2015 that The Villages had bought land south of SR 44 and was planning to build homes down there ( Post titled “South of 44.”) Frequent posters laughed at my post as a rumor. Do you think maybe these people could be professional posters?

Drive by and see how many cars are parked there.

Deny if you want.

"Hundreds" more?

I don't think apartments are a bad idea. The Villages keeps up their properties nicely and if there is no further demand for any other uses, what's the problem?

:boom: Actually it was their Katie Belles! :icon_wink:

Their "Katie Belles" that was losing money every month. They couldn't make money on air conditioning, ice water, and free entertainment. Like any business, they had to stop the bleeding. A good thing was lost as a result of many self-indulgent individuals who thought they had the right to occupy a business and not support it through their patronage.

It was a business that failed. Now the owners want to replace it with apartments and add additional apartments to other unused 2nd story properties, all totaled perhaps 20-25 apartments. Hardly a crowd of hundreds. Parking won't be an issue, KB needed over 180 spaces, unless the apartment dwellers each have 8 cars, things should be OK in this department.

Perspective.. What a wonderful thing.

YES...

Perspective and context are essential to any discussion.

More ptsd, EMT’S and police overwhelmed
 

for about at the most twenty apartments half of them probably single person please take a breath people and only Covid or nuclear attack can stop the music and if Katie belles every opens again I’ll buy the first round of water with lemon

Fake news. All business on second story were leased as developer confessed at prior meeting. Katie Belles failed after developer remodeled it.

If I lived up there I would be more concerned about all of the apartments going up on the outskirts of TV, that is where the crowds will be coming from. The tenants in these new sections will most likely be full time not snow birds and that will be great for businesses within TV but there will be crowds. Samething is going on near brownwood..

:boom: So there!

Yes something is going on some say progress ( that’s me and I’ve been here for 20 years all over the villages) and others see the sky is falling, the sky is falling , progress or chicken little ?? At 82 I’ll always take progress

As I mentioned previously, I'm more concerned about accommodation for golf carts owned by these apartment residents.

Will there be a long secure golf cart garage for them? Somewhere close enough to the back entry of the stairs, so they can bring groceries inside? If there is, that means it would also be a building in close proximity to public access from the parking lots. This would need to be addressed, because apartments or not, it is still a place where the public is welcome, and those parking spaces are needed for all visitors.

I wouldn't have any problem with apartment residents in the squares at all, otherwise. Bedrooms can be built to face the parking lot, so live music would be no bother to them at all.

Is there parking for golf carts at the apartments at Brownwood? Not being sarcastic, just wondering. I haven't driven up close.

Yes, but it is an extra add-on to the lease.

Many Villagers worry too much, about things they cannot control........

I don't know, and it isn't relevant. The apartments at Brownwood were built from the ground up, and aren't "in" the actual town square.

The apartment at Spanish Springs would be on top of existing commercial property in the middle of the town square, with public parking in the back of the buildings. There is no place to build a new parking lot just for the apartments, so that means spaces that were used by employees of the businesses and customers of those businesses, will need to find someplace else to park.

This is true. What is also true, is that residents have a say in the matter, which is why they have public meetings and hearings and discussions. Anyone who wants to contribute to the discussion should be ENcouraged to do so, not DIScouraged by dismissal of their opinion.

IMO I don’t have problems with developers redoing building they own and already built. If they are empty it’s none of my business what developers Does with it.

IMO what I do have problem with when developers tear down buildings and put 100s of apartments in district they sold the amenities to district and the area was already built out years ago. Now developers are over crowding an over crowded area. IMO fighting the wrong battle around square.

IMO the developers can do what they want in the new built areas, but should be rained In when they try to over develop districts they long ago sold amenities to districts 1 through 13 And built out residentially.

Notice I said MY OPINION.:boxing2:

I really don't have any dog in this fight but I agree that the Developer owns the buildings and can do with them what he wants. The golf cart and parking issues are so overblown...I have never had a problem parking in Spanish Springs with either the car or cart....I suspect the complaint is the closeness to destination that most object to. The more population you can bring downtown the more businesses will benefit and if you notice, none of them have objected to what the Developer is planning. The more business sees benefit, the more the residents will benefit. While I also believe the other planned apartments will also be beneficial to the community, because of its location I will let the residents choose their fate on that one.

Or want to control themselves.

I am continually amazed by posters blaming “the developer” for the failure of Katie Belle’s. The original and remodeled versions failed because people did not support it.

As far as for the apartments, I think they will appeal to a certain clientele. They are saying 45 apartments in total. That would be less than 100 additional folks at the square IF they came out every night. Apartments will require some reconfiguration of the buildings, but when complete will be unnoticed by the general public visiting the square.

Focus on the much bigger problem, it’s the multi story rental apartment complex monstrosity planned to go where the Hacienda Hills Club House, pool and tennis courts used to exist. The apartments planned for Spanish Springs pale in comparison and will hardly be noticeable.

They said building would stop at RT 44 too.

I do not miss Katie Belle's or the Buffalo and I think the apartments will be no different than the homes abutting Lake Sumter Landing Market Square, as far as the music goes. Some folks are always trying to find a fly in the ointment.

Bingo :clap2 that the battle not SS building’s.

86 leases out of 265 apartments

Care to share your source?

It’s a fact. You wonder why they are building so many more apartments when these apartments aren’t popular with the consumer. What could be the reason? Could it be that you can buy a nice, low priced patio villa and have your car parked in your own garage right next to your own house and be able to bring your groceries in without getting wet or walking a long distance? Maybe older people would rather move from their house and then buy into assisted living and not burn through their equity with monthly rent?

Sales person

Only garages are extra add-ons.

That's not bad, about 1/3 of them leased in a short period of time, they just recently completed the last phase. If they didn't feel these were a sound business decision they would not go forward with them. Build them and they will come. Right around the corner on 44A there are several hundred more apartments along with condos and single family homes being built that are not part of TV but will be very near to the square and will help the restaurants and businesses in the Brownwood area.

From the Lofts website

Optional amenities based on availability:
Outdoor Car & Golf Car Parking*
Garage & Reserved Parking*
Additional Storage Options*

* Additional fee

View the cost of living at
The Lofts at Brownwood

Actually that is not good at all. 1/3 rented after a year? Yes, young people on the outskirts of The Villages like apartments because they haven’t saved enough for a down payment or they aren’t sure where they will live long term. The question is whether the type of people who like The Villages set up want to live in apartments in their senior years? Many Villagers are good middle class people who have amassed sizable nest eggs from saving their money and owning their own home. They are smart enough to know that $2500 a month rent works out to $30,000 a year. You can buy a home in the Villages for less than that. Plus you will see an equity increase in the value of your home. In just 5 years an apartment dweller will have paid $150,000 in rent and show no equity increase, just expenses. I wonder if there is a market for apartment renters in The Villagers. Would you rent one? Wealthy people on the coasts of Florida with high disposable income might be a better target audience rather than the average, middle American Villagers, in my opinion. We will know soon.

No one is forcing "older people" to rent/lease these apartments, so what is the problem? There are a whole lot of reasons some one would want to lease rather than purchase a home. Just because you don't want to means nothing to the individual that does. If the builder goofed and no one will rent the apartments what is the problem for the rest of us? There won't be any money out of our pockets. If they don't get leased out I would imagine they will be offered as condos.

you are the first poster I've seen who purports to know the financial status of Katie Belles. What is the source of your information? Have you seen the books?