The Villages Construction Update #132
 

Here's my latest construction Update, #132 - No More Secret Promise.
There's only 4 parts to this video:
1) A look at the growth of The Villages and the other developments that didn't make it through the great recession and The Villages bought and merged into their long-term growth plans.
2) A new Then-and-Now segment - the villages of Desoto and McClure
3) A look at all the new areas that have opened up since the opening of the Southern Oaks bridge.
and
4) A comparison of the time to get from Sawgrass Grove to the Turnpike via Meggison and McNeil/Bexley Trail

Hope you enjoy the video, #133 is in the works now.

https://youtu.be/ud6Bl80lWQA?si=N3WWq4tO-l6pBbjL

Thanks again for all that you do, Don.

Very informative Don. Especially the first part about all the separate DRIs that were under development that The Villages purchased. I knew the Fenney area was one, but not all the others.

Don;
A video or two ago, you made a subtle comment on possibility of connectivity from Lake Denham/Dabney to the west side of the turnpike. I think the words were something like, Be Patient...
Any other thoughts on this ?

There is a lot more information available but time constraints made it necessary to condense and leave out a lot of details of this amazing puzzle of growth by The Villages. The amount of risk they have and are still taking in terms of dollars and resources is mind boggling. Most developers plan 3 to 5 years into the future because planning any farther involves too much risk. The Villages is planning 20 or more years into the future at considerable risk, imagine the devastating loss they would incur and the impact of the loss of over 10,000 construction related jobs in Sumter and surrounding counties if the bottom were to fall out of the retirement housing market. That takes a lot of faith to put one's future at such a risk.

Many, and many words have been spoken with knowledgable individuals on this topic. The most I can say at this point, until I find an independent alternate source to validate some information, is look at what has been built, what is scheduled to be built, and what is under and being contracted and connect the dots. #132 helped bring to light a little more of the puzzle pieces.

Do Developers own property, acquired perhaps in the past two years +/-, EAST of 470, NORTH of Turnpike? That would be on the other side of Turnpike from the recently acquired 3,000 acres.

Since 470 runs east-west I'm not 100% sure of what area you're talking about. If you're talking about the area south of Dabney/470 and North/east of the Turnpike that is opposite of the Secret Promise property they acquired in August, then yes, they own 550 acres of that area (most of it) and have a wastewater agreement with the city of Leesburg as a part of that purchase that happened about 2 years ago. The highlighted area in the lower right corner of the attached picture, just south of Dabney.

Makes me wonder how much more property they own that other than the family nobody is aware of.

amazing developers

Yes. That’s what I was asking about. THANKS

Low probability of this happening. People will continue to flee high tax jurisdictions with bad weather and unaccountable state governments. It was 30k cash savings yearly to move here. Combine that with freeing capital from selling old house and getting a new one for around half price. Earn risk free 5 percent on it.

The houses are perpetual ancillary revenue streams for the developer. It’s all about cash flow.

What makes Florida desirable

Outstanding video. Thank you!

It's not unusual for them to use sell companies to buy properties here in Sumter and surrounding counties. A typical example of this is the Landstone development, a few years ago (8? if I recall) it was purchased by a company whose principal partner was a prominent individual in the running of the Charter School and lived in the Glenn Hollow community (where the developer's family and close business associates live). It certainly wasn't an effort to compete against the developer. Magically, the property was purchased from them by the developer and is now what we know as Middleton. There are quite a few of these here in Sumter County, it takes some (a lot) digging in public records, but the trail usually ends were expected. Disney did the same thing in the 60's for WDW, as have a great many other companies. It's not illegal and it's a key tool in keeping land acquisition costs from spiraling out of control.

Hi Don

Any word on the multi modal paths that will eventually connect the area of the Southern Oaks bridge to the Fenney area ??

Nothing yet, the road and MMPs are still under construction and with all of the heavy equipment moving in the area right now it would be a bad idea to go down the roads at the risk of becoming a grease spot on the pavement.

Understood, thanks

They arr brilliant businessmen and for sure they plan well into the future. No reason not to buy land using shell companies.

The Corbin Trail extension beyond Monarch Grove was paved last week, so we might be getting closer.

Amazingly, when I drove by tonight, two golf carts had gone around the concrete barrier and decided to joy ride down the closed road.

When I was shooting video of it on Friday there were 2 golf carts and 5 bicycles that came out of the area beyond the barriers in a 10-minute time frame. It will still be a while until it is opened - for safety reasons because of the big off-road dump truck running around the area. A 100-ton truck vs. a 650 lbs. golf cart, would not be pretty.

If someone gets hurt or a golf cart breaks down and can't be towed out the crying will begin, and then they'll try to blame the developer. Never stops amazing me how careless people can be, as we used to say when I was in the Navy - The stupid shall be punished.

Nothing wrong with that until there is...

Looking closely at Google Maps, there are traces of unannounced , roads, maybe from the construction driver phones/GPS, that could give a hint where things are headed?

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos each month. Your videos filled with intriguing facts every month are a real eye opener and delight.

I can't wait to see more of your updates – keep up the amazing work! :gc:

They have built a better mousetrap so lots of people want to move here. Think this will continue long after we are gone.

Thanks Don! Good work.

Thanks, Don! Great work. The only thing I continue to be concerned with is, having to continually grow the workers here? With all the expansion, along with the development(s) in Wildwood and surrounding areas, I still can't envision that many people will move here for mostly service-related jobs?

The developer does not seem to have a problem getting workers. Suspect he pays above market wages and treats his people well

Lets hope so?!

What is your definition of “service-related jobs”?

You have some holes in your knowledge of Sumter and surrounding counties and the people that work and live here. It is not all about The Villages, yes The Villages is the principal economic driver in the area, but that economy consist of more than the clerk at the checkout line or the kid dropping fries at a fast food restaurant. The Villages has been a catalyst for growth in the area, driving taxes to an all time low and has attracted many businesses related and not related to The Villages.

There are thousand of hard working and highly skilled construction workers and heavy equipment operators employed in Sumter County. Outside of "the bubble" the commercial and industrial base of the county is growing, something most Villager's never see or know anything about. There is a growing tourism industry beyond just what is in the town squares that is growing in Sumter County.

In Wildwood this year an estimated 1500 new homes and apartments will be built, in addition to the 3500+ homes The Villages will build, to support the growing industries of Sumter County. It's not all about The Villages and "service-related jobs". There is much much more here than most Villager's know or recognize.

Leesburg Turnpike Wastewater Facility
 

Looking at property at Dabney and just yesterday discovered this facility and learned about the company building it and slated output. It's going to be a huge wastewater plant and now I have major concerns about moving to Dabney or Lake Denham. Am I overexaggerating? 6 Million gallons of wastewater being treated a day. Yikes!

Yes and I Poop at least 1 million gallons myself. I can't relate to your issue because the poop plant in my home town is design to process 136 million gallons of waste water a day....so 6 in the broad scheme of things is nothing. Every time you run water in your kitchen or wash clothes or take an hour shower it's wastewater. It all goes in the same pipe. My new home is very close by your Non-Issue. You should come visit instead of asking online questions....you might actually love it here:spoken:

Are we talking about the expansion at 1600 County Rd 470? Link below? Looks like there's already a plant there that's being expanded? I don't expect this will affect us in Lake Denham. Don? All I'm finding is groundbreaking back in 2020.

Groundbreaking scheduled for Leesburg wastewater facility project

Ribbon-cutting ceremony set for Leesburg wastewater treatment plant project - Leesburg-News.com

Also, Don do you have any idea how long it will take to start the 470 widening? Another thread someone said not until the 2030s.

Thanks!

2030 is unlikely based on the work already happening with 470 and Central Parkway at the Sumter-Lake county line. I would expect work to start in the next 12 months or so based on the other related work.

As far as the WWTP goes, as I recall, when the developer purchased the 550 acres south of 470 is that there was an agreement to provide additional upgrades to the WWTP facilities, I'll need to dig in my archives to see what I can find on that topic to be 100% certain.

I wouldn't be concerned about the plant, there are others throughout (within) The Villages that have been in operation for years (decades?) that go unnoticed by most residents. The latest of these is in Moultrie Creek - the Gibson WWTP. These modern facilities have strict operating guidelines and are designed not to emit the odors that people think of coming from these plants from many decades ago.

Thanks Don! Always appreciate your input.

There is Wastewater Treatment Plant behind the Fire Station on Bonita BLVD, emits significant odors, occasionally. Anyone who spends time at the Brinson-Perry Dog park, can certainly attest to that.

That said, I suspect it relates to typical maintenance or possibly a temporary malfunction. With modern technology, there's no reason for a WTP to emit significant odors on a regular basis.

6M Gallons isn't a huge treatment plant, but it does indicate it's designed to accommodate approximately 120,000 people (average flow is about 50-60 gallons/person/day). WTP's are scaleable, so the number you read for potential flows, might simply be the potential at "build-out".

(I'm the permit holder for (2) private WTP's and a 3rd one in design, so I have some experience with WTP's.)

I am always amazed with what the developer is doing!

Yep, all this future development will be exciting to watch unfold over the years to come. Reinforces that I made the correct decision to retire to The Villages. There is no other community like ours anywhere! Aren't we fortunate and blessed to be here at this stage in our lives!

prices
 

well there's definitely no fomo indicators and watching the Gilbo Realty "new home updates" and the Dabney homes new for sale and Lake Denham 249 new homes sitting before they would have sold quickly.. I also watched some of the videos on prices falling. I dont see any mortgage rate drops coming. I would wait to buy for that blessing.. The market is changing fast and when i see this "In the Sunshine State, active listings have grown much faster than in the rest of the country in recent months—causing a drop in prices that hasn't been met with an equivalent growth in sales as of yet. Journalist Lance Lambert wrote for ResiClub that active listings in Florida were up 45.8 percent in February compared to a year before.

Cape Coral saw the fastest increase in active listings in the entire country from January to February, with the number of total homes for sale climbing by a staggering 60.6 percent. And you wonder why homes are sitting unsold in a "bubble community"