Construction Update 8/17 and Amenity Fee (part 2)
 

I've posted an update on the construction here in The Villages and have included part 2 of the discussion on the Amenity Fee. There is a lot of content in this video, so I've added markers in the description on YouTube to allow you to jump to a specific point in the video, you'll need to expand the description to see these.

I apologize for all the commercials YouTube puts in the videos; I have no control over their content and only a little control over where they occur.

Yes, I really am trying to give away $10,000, the details are in the video.

The Amenity Fee (part 2) and Villages 8/17/20 Construction update - YouTube or
The Villages 8/17/20 Construction Update and The Amenity Fee (part 2) - YouTube

Don, the accurate information is much needed for the many people that, as you know, came here without fully understanding how, and why, this place functions as it does. You continue to do us a great service. Well done as always. Thank you.

Again, thanks for all that you do, Don. I appreciate it.

Don,

First, excellent presentation ( video and explanations), particularly on the AAC and PWAC.

Since you obviously are "in the know", please comment on the AAC's recent vote in favor of The Villages Developer using amenity fees from the future Hacienda apartment dwellers (assuming that there will even be such a facility built).

This seems to be a precedent setting event.

Why would any AAC cede their constituents amenity payments to the developers?

How does it benefit the local residents, those same property owners who gave the AAC members the power to distribute their payments?

Thanks.

Thank you for your videos. I gained much better knowledge of the districts and amenities from them.

Great video Don. If people would watch your videos on YouTube they would have a much better understanding of how this place runs. There is so much misinformation out there. I appreciate all your hard work to get the correct information out to people. Thanks.

I agree. Don is one out of two or three people I look for to post actual facts about how The Villages actually works.

You, like many others here in The Villages lack an understanding of who owns what, who pays for what, and what is an amenity and what isn't, HH was NOT an amenity, it was a privately owned business.

I am "in the know" only because I take the time and effort to understand where I live and how it works.

The AAC had previously (5 years ago) assigned amenity rights for 300 additional units to the developer for use in assisted living facilities and independent living facilities. The use of these did not pan out as had expected, the assisted and independent facilities only showed interest in 7 units. 7 of the 300 were also assigned to the Chatham Acres subdivision. For these 14 units the AAC receives the Amenity Fees for providing amenities to these 14 properties. The remainder have gone unexecuted. This means that they were not generating any revenue or income for anyone, not the AAC, not the RAD fund, not the SALD fund, and not the developer. Nothing was given away. The developer requested reassignment of these rights to the HH redevelopment project.

The HH redevelopment project will be funded by the developer, they will build the additional amenities, they will maintain the additional amenities, and the amenities will be open to all residents of The Villages. How is this different from south of SR44 or the Lofts? It isn’t. The developer is carrying all the cost to provide and operate as well as all the risk, they pay for community watch services, recreation staffing services, Public Safety supplement, and any other costs incurred by the “District” to support these new amenities. HH will operate the same way.

When you, I, or any other resident utilizes the developer owned amenity facilities there is no compensation made by the “District” to the developer for this use, the same holds true if someone from one of the villages south of SR44 comes north to go to a rec center or plays golf. It is generally considered to be an even swap of services. The same will hold true for the HH property.

The AAC isn’t giving any amenity fee payment away, they are swapping utilization rights and each entity will continue to carry the operating costs and risks of their own facilities. The residents are gaining additional amenities at zero cost to them.

Who comes out ahead, it could be one party or the other on any given day, but it’s probably breakeven in the end.

People are upset because a for profit business went out of business. It couldn’t sustain itself any longer on selling ice water and air conditioning. If you’re upset of the closing then maybe you should have patronized it more.

The AAC was given the opportunity to purchase the property, buy it at market value, image that, someone wanted to sell their property at market value. Would you take half the market value when selling your house, I dare anyone reading this post to be foolish enough to say yes, sure pay me half what my house is worth, you’re not that foolish and neither is the developer. The AAC didn’t want to buy the property, so be it, it is being redeveloped into something new, it’s their property and they are free to do with it as they will. The developer owes no one anything, you bought a house in a community, you didn’t buy an eternal free ride. The developer made their money the same way the rest of us did, they earned it, and they don’t owe any of us a dime of it.

My stance on this isn’t because I favor the developer, it’s because I think like a businessman. Too many living here have forgotten how the real world actually work, that a business has to make a profit to survive.

Here’s the text of the agreement that the AAC approved.

On September 9, 2015, the Amenity Authority Committee (AAC) approved and recommended to the Village Center Community Development District (VCCDD) that The Villages of Lake-Sumter, Inc. (VLS) could bring into the Village Center District Service Territory an additional 300 units and that the use of the units be restricted to residents of independent living or assisted living facilities (ALF/ILF). On October 14, 2015, the VCCDD approved an agreement with VLS to provide amenities for the additional 300 units.

There are currently fourteen (14) amenity rights being utilized which include seven (7) for TSL SS PropCo, LLC (Elan Spanish Springs) and seven (7) that were subsequently designated for use for Chatham Acres. The current balance of unused amenity rights is 286.

For your consideration today is the First Amendment to the Agreement executed in 2015 between the VCCDD and VLS. This amended agreement takes into consideration that should VLS utilize the amenity rights for ALF/ILF, as the existing agreement provides, there would be no common amenity improvements to the community.

As presented, the amended agreement provides VLS the ability to utilize the unused amenity rights for age restricted units, and to construct additional amenity improvements at no cost to residents and guests in the Village Center District territory and The Villages community at large. If the amenity rights are utilized in this manner, VLS shall construct, at a minimum, a resort-style pool, sport and activity courts, walking paths and open spaces – all of which shall be accessible to residents and guests. Furthermore, the additional amenities would be perpetually maintained by VLS.

In consideration of the significant capital expenditures to construct the amenity facilities, the amended agreement provides that VLS would retain the amenity fee revenue for said units, with the exception of certain defined contributions towards Community Watch and The Villages Public Safety Department. As previously noted, the amended agreement provides that VLS will perpetually maintain these facilities; they would not be the financial responsibility of the VCCDD.

The amended agreement also addresses the Hacienda Parcel, which is the former location of the privately owned Hacienda Hills Country Club. Should the additional age-restricted residential units or amenity infrastructure be constructed by VLS on this property, VLS assumes the responsibility for redesigning and improving the abutting parcel owned by the District as described in the attached Exhibit “B” . The improvements include the drive aisles, parking, and postal facility. The District will continue to own and operate the District Parcel, including the postal facility, and the Developer shall contribute the proportionate
share of postal box charges and costs for postal boxes utilized by users of the Hacienda Parcel to the District. If this is pursued, the necessary legal documents pertaining to easements for ingress and egress of the property will be drafted.

GoldWingNut
Outstanding post!

You, like many others here in The Villages lack an understanding of who owns what, who pays for what, and what is an amenity and what isn't, HH was NOT an amenity, it was a privately owned business.

Don, although I appreciate your verbose response, and having read it twice, I am still not convinced just why the AAC voted to cede the major share of the amenity fees to the developer.

Maybe, fewer words and a more concise explanation would satisfy my feeble mind. :shrug:

The business aspects here are highly complex but much of the population has a five second attention span so will never get it.

Also interesting an area that predominately supports the current pro business administration is so anti-capitalism if it inconveniences them.

I could be wrong (I agree Don is amazing but he picks his words very carefully so I also get confused)...
I think The Developer is collecting and keeping the amenity fees because they will be responsible for staffing and maintaining the amenities at the new complex. (They staff and maintain the pool, they maintain all other amenities, etc. It's exactly like every CDD... they collect amenity fees which they use to staff and maintain all the amenities.) I think I also read that The Developer would provide some funds from this amenity fee to pay for Community Watch.
Am I close???

Very well said, At the end of the day the villages per se is a business it has to make money and it has to grow to continue.

You are correct about the developer collecting the amenity fee on the HH redevelopment project, they will provide will staff and maintain the new amenities to be built and so will use the amenity fee revenue to pay for this. Yes, they will also pay the $4.08/month/unit Public Safety supplement and will pay for the Community Watch services provided. The $10+/- amount mentioned is the approximate cost per month per home throughout the rest of The Villages that they will also pay. If they enlist any other services, which I think they will, from the "District" such as staffing, then they will pay the cost incurred also. Yes, this is exactly like all the other amenities south of SR44 and at The Lofts.

Just to be clear the other CDDs (numbered residential and Brownwood) DO NOT collect Amenity Fee payments, as they have no ownership or involvement in their operations. The Amenity Fee north of SR44 to CR466 is collected by the owners of the amenities, the SLCDD, and north of CR466 they are collect by the owners of those amenities, the VCCDD.