Will the Historical Area Endure?
 

Hello,

Our home sold and we are finally moving to TV. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are house shopping this weekend.

My husband and I very much love the original area for its hills, large yards, mature landscaping and the beautiful pool and we love the style of the well maintained manufactured homes, as they are all different. My concern is that this area will eventually be phased out by TV.

Does anyone know if this has ever been a concern?

I must say the developers seem to keep all the ares beautiful and we hope it will continue.

I"ve never lived there, but I've visited there many times to play golf. I think for anyone who bemoans how TV has grown out of its original concept, this area might be a great place to consider. To me it still has the old "Bubble" feel that is missing the farther south you go.

I wouldn't worry about it being "abandoned" by TV. Some complain about changes, like the ones they made at Hacienda, but to me that is evidence of a willingness to change with the times, which is the opposite of abandonment.

You never know but does not seem the developer plan is to keep growing. Would imagine they make money on this area and if so would not think they would sell.

As I recall the developer was buying some of the manufactured homes and tearing these down and replacing with new stick or block homes, not sure if this is still being done.

I do not think you would have to worry. The developer is still involved in this section. They have recently done major improvements to the executive golf courses and are in the middle of building a new Rec Center. Plus, they have been buying up older manufactured homes and replacing them with stick built homes that have the same floor plans and look as those elsewhere in The Villages. And I agree, this area has a "feel" that is unique to anywhere else in The Villages. So keep it on your short list of places to consider.

The beauty of TV is like no other. We currently live in a very pretty gated community on the Treasure Coast. For the same HOA fees we can live in TV. We can't wait! We've visited many times over the past few years and didn't consider moving until last year.

We hear so many cons of being further north but we love the look and feel so much. People tell us we are too young to live north (55) but does friendship really have an age? My dearest friend recently passed, she was 94 and we were best of friends.

When I'm in the southern areas, it doesn't feel the same to me; however, we have friends in Hawkins who tout that the South is the only place to be. We are very torn.

Thank you for your insight and if you have anymore advice, I'm open to any and all.

Thank you putting my mind at ease. I completely agree with the bubble feeling north compared to the South. We just love the North.

That was actually my concern, do they make enough money up there to keep it part of the TV? I don't know how many homes are up there but it didn't feel too terribly big.

Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

Thank you for your insight, it's very appreciated. We inquired about the buy outs, but it sounds like they had to end the program, at least for now, as it was hindering sales on pricier new builds in the southern areas. Maybe once they exhaust that, they will get back to the buy out plan?

Thank you for putting my mind at ease.

Please look into what the cost of insurance is in that area. Many of these homes are self insured because of many are of the manufactured variety. This location is great for shopping and medical needs. But, remember everytime you want to leave that area you will be crossing over 441 in a golf cart if that is what your use to.

I live in a site built house on the historical side and I love it here. There is more individuality in the homes and lots of trees. We have 4 pools on this side, golf, bocce, tennis, pickleball and horseshoes.
There is no place I need to go that I cannot get to by golf cart. This is why I live here. It is close to shopping, doctors and restaurants. Good luck in your choice.

Do whatever is best for you but here is a thought.

You will be far away from the other 4 squares and lots of things to do. Would you suggest you rent for a month or more to explore and pick what is best for you.

I live in the Historic Section. Yes, it's beautiful, I personally feel it's the best. No, they won't be building out. Why? There's no place for them to expand up here. That's /why/ they expanded west and south. North and east are already spoken for and developed by other people.

The developer no longer buys up foreclosures to rebuild. It remains an option for them to do that, but they stopped doing it a few years ago.

The pool the OP is referring to is a priority pool. It's not an amenity, if you want to use it, you have to pay extra. It's part of the Country Club, which is privately owned by the Developer. But yes it is absolutely gorgeous. Our side has three other pools, that are available for all Villagers, and paid for our of our monthly amenity fee. Those are Hilltop adult pool, Paradise family pool, and Southside adult pool. Southside does have a hot tub.

As for age - please keep this in mind, and consider pragmatism and logic over emotion when you read this:

Many residents of the Historic area are REALLY OLD. That means homes here are going up for sale often, because people who get REALLY OLD die. They are replaced by younger people who are not really old. So many of the people moving in, are younger. In their 50's, and early 60's. Yes, your neighbor might be 80. And your 80-year-old neighbor is probably in better shape than you are because she's been living and participating in this incredibly active sports-based community for the past 20 years, while you've been stuck behind your desk 8 hours a day and only participate in sports on your annual vacation. Your 80-year-old neighbor has lots of stories about life, knows everyone in the neighborhood and can introduce you, can help you find a nearby club to suit your interests, and can probably get a kick out of taking you to the square for a night of dancing once in awhile.

And then, when your 80-year-old neighbor turns 95, she might end up having to sell her home and move into assisted living. And the new neighbor will be 55 - but by then you'll be the old lady.

Such is the ebb and flow of aging in the Historic section.

This thread spurs some questions for me.
Is the developer the only one who would be allowed to tear down an existing manufactured home and replace it with a site-built home?

When people raise a concern over whether the developer will continue to take care of the historic section, I thought that other than Orange Blossom CC, everything was owned and maintained by the CDD. Keeping the amenities up to date, and the common landscaping etc. is not the job of the developer, or am I mistaken?