Evening With The Developer
 

Things I learned that had not already been in the Daily Sun:

-- Mark teased us with new retail/commercial that will be coming to Buffalo Ridge and to Rt 44 / Morse Blvd. Regarding Buffalo Ridge, I assume this is in addition to Hobby Lobby which was already announced.

-- They just signed a lease for the restaurant to be built next to the Lake Okahumpka Rec Center - Harry and the Natives. They already have a location in Hobe Sound, FL.

-- There is a waiting list for The Lofts apartments. They believe there is a demand for apartments near the squares. Hence, they are pushing forward with Spanish Springs apartments.

-- The Olympia Regional Rec Center next to the future town center, Eastport, will have a 30,000 sq. ft. indoor gym.

-- The Eastport town center will not be a "square." They showed a flyover of an artist's rendition - curved streets which will be closed to vehicles in the evenings; restaurants on these streets with outdoor seating that will face the entertainment stage; pedestrian-only alleys with more shopping that angle off from the main streets.

I hear he said off camera, he wants to eliminate the gate going to BJ's and Lowes.

Thanks for the post.

Found this interesting: Sawgrass Grove is not a town square, McCabe said, so entertainment at the area will vary — some days may have no music, while others will have doubleheaders in both the day and evening.


Big year ahead for amenities all throughout The Villages | News | The Villages Daily Sun | thevillagesdailysun.com

:loco::loco:

I feel that tingling down my leg……

The details about Harry And The Natives is already on The Villages Gourmet Club Website.

It's going to be another casual bar and grill, like The Back Porch in Mulberry Grove.

Skip

-Attachment 93839

Why start a stupid rumor like this? All it will do is get the loonies worked up. Remember, got to keep the loonies on the path!

:bigbow:

Did he mention when the new Costco will be built?:icon_wink:

He did, it's going into Barnstorm Theater.

Hey abbott!!!
 

And then he muttered under his breath “ I‘ll show em who’s boss . They complain about the gate wait til I replace it with a toll booth”

No nightly music at Sawgrass Grove
 

I wonder how many southern folks thought this would be treated like a square and have nightly music?
I wonder if they can control access enough to hold ticketed events?

If any, they were not listening.
From day-one, it has been described as not being a town square.

I guess they'll finally get moving with the SS movie theatre reassignment. I'm all for apartments. Older people can enjoy less maintenance and be close to all they need. There will be a loss of parking spots at SS which is the worse part for those with mobility issues.

I don't understand the idea of closing the gate to Walmart/Lowes/Wawa. It's not an issue for me since I prefer driving, but there are a lot of people who use this route with their golf carts.

As for apartments in Spanish Springs, just wait for complaints about the loud music. A way to get rid of entertainment at this square.

The Barnstorm Theater will likely be transitioned into apartments. Cheaper to stream new movies at home.

I wonder why they didn't build condos ? certainly a business reason but I would find their reasoning insightful

Are you a southern folk? No, then why the interest.? Or just stirring things up?

I've been saying that for years. Condos make more sense than apartments.

They should close the squares to parking cars from 5-9. It would be hard to manage but parking for lots more people.

Bladder condition?

And I have been saying for years, "they" know what they are doing!

They are following the plans that have worked, and are continuing with the plan.

My sentiments precisely.

There's nothing like a herd of opinionated geezers for pointing out every real and imagined flaw in everything this "developer" does or proposes. (Is the "developer" real, by the way? Or a shadowy entity along the lines of the Wizard in Emerald City?) But the track record is excellent. No regrets at all about moving here.

Makes more sense to whom?

Was there any mention about opening the Barnstorm theater? I'd love for that to happen.

When people live in the villages they are naturally curious as to direction this place is going. Not to mention people do seem to move from house to house sometimes northerners even become southerners.

Why does this bother you?

What do you think the duplexes are around square?

No, whistle condition.

There was an article in the DS earlier this week where someone within the villages mgt stated that the movie industry is still in a state of flux and not releasing enough movies. The only theater would be Old Mill Playhouse for the present future.

Oh, geez. Not another sports bar. Why can’t we get some upscale restaurants here? So tired of same old, same old.

I’ll use my own situation for why the developer doesn’t build condos, I’ve bought 6 homes in the villages 5 new and one preowned, if they had condos here I would have started out with them and by this time I would most likely have been on my 3rd ,the developer has a good plan , you can make more on houses and apartments , but I think they are still missing the boat because I have a sense that there would be quite a few people who would like to live in a nice condo complex

If this place would support more upscale restaurants think they would be here already.

I just get tired of folks bashing or suggesting possible problems with the new areas . Most times it exposes their ignorance.
FYI, I’m above 466A.

Wrong source. That's Nucky's tollbooth. He rolls it in when he needs the extra bucks to cover the cost of his [REDACTED]

Just commenting on these two things.

The Lofts apartments were built to the side of the central part of the square, and were not something else, and then repurposed to be apartments. In addition, the Lofts come with their own amenities and gated private parking. Using waiting lists at the Lofts as justification to repurpose second-floor apartments over an existing storefront is stupid and makes no sense. The two can't compare. The waiting list is more likely because the Lofts come with ALL of those things, not merely living space for rent with parking spaces that aren't sectioned off and unavailable to the public.

The new town center sounds like an amazing idea. Sort of like a miniature Riverwalk like they have in Texas. I would absolutely take the drive to visit it as part of my monthly "adventure the Villages" rotation.

The closest thing to a sports bar is Gators at Brownwood. Sports bars have a gazillion TV's and good bar service, none of which are present in The Villages. Before you tell me McGrady's is a sports bar, it has one tv.

Given that they do not have any plans to build more condos I was wondering why? and also given the ongoing success of this well managed business who wouldn't like to be a fly on the wall when the decisions are made