[Barbscats]

Key West/Caribbean theme with pastel buildings and lots of palm trees..located off of 470 to accommodate the new expansion. Restaurants should include Seasons 52, bagel/ deli, good Chinese with table service, a bakery, seafood, and service including a dry cleaner and gas station. Trader Joes and Costco would be welcome as well. Retail should include both men's and women's boutiques, home furnishings and accessories, jewelry store, gift shop and book store.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Dave2000

Ya, the real grass spot a good place for your dog to re-leave themselves.

No, they can use the mini dog park on the side of the square. It would be just a solid concrete foundation slab, with a free dog poop bag dispenser (for all the Publix customers, amirite?) and bleach wipes. Anyone seen leaving after their dog pooped without cleaning up, would get fined $100 per incident. That would fund the nightly band and the cost of the baggies and wipes.

Because the grass would be the eating area of the food court, they could forbid ANY pets in that spot. Service animals ONLY, 4 on the floor, on duty. Anyone caught bringing a pet or proving that their service animal isn't really a service animal, because he jumped up on the owner's lap, or is sitting in a doggie stroller (for example) would be fined $200. That would fund the maintenance of the picnic area. No smoking in that area either. Same fine.

[E Cascade]

More little gourmet coffee cafes (other than Dunkin/Starbucks/etc) with even a drive thru if possible, gourmet vegetarian food, super little bakery/cheese shops.........anything organic and healthy. How about a "good food" breakfast quick in/out place?

[E Cascade]

Good organic coffee/tea cafe, healthy food to eat specializing in organic, vegan; good, quick breakfast place; gourmet bakery, cheese shop with eatery, cafe with ramen bowls, ......these places need to have a way for you to park around the outside with lots of alleyways to get into the open-walkway streets/centers not crowded with golf carts/cars/etc

[Denise1]

COSTCO,pnc bank, Gordon foods, COSTCO

[l2ridehd]

Needs to be somewhere South of the Turnpike. Call it Steamboat Springs. Have a real paddle wheel steamboat on a lake with a full casino on board. Make all the buildings and streets resemble New Orleans. With French balconies, lots of jazz music, street vendors, beignets, espresso, have a real madi gra and a real bourbon street. Outdoor artists every day, nightly entertainment would always be jazz, blues and honkytonk. Some really good french pastry shops, lots of seafood places, hurricane drinks with some Crawfish Etouffee and lots of BBQ. A couple of good bed and breakfast places vs a hotel or maybe a boutique hotel, and it has to have lots of cops who always look the other way. And of course lots and lots of golf cart parking.

[Lottoguy]

They have that already. It's called Lake Sumter Landing.

[Lottoguy]

First off a little history. Spanish Springs was inspired by St. Augustine and the Fountain of Youth. Lake Sumter Landing was inspired by Key West. Brownwood was inspired by the cattle industry of Florida from a past era.
A interesting theme for the next town square could be something inspired from NASA and outer space. Have rocket towers, launch pad bandstand, space shuttle restaurants, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter bar themes. Have a countdown clock next to the bandstand showing when the band will start to play in the square. My two cents....

[jwc7@hotmail.com]

I agree with everything said here except the location; 470 is a bit too far south. I can see it more in the area below Monarch Grove, between the Turnpike and 501.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

a. Location: Micro Racetrack Road, replacing the Original Speedway Park and surrounding environs.
b. Name and Theme: Miniature Golf, complete with windmills and a fake Statue of Liberty.
c. Shop/store you want the most: Something similar to Carobongo's in Sumter Landing.
d. Restaurant/bar you want the most: Cold Stone Creamery and Breugger's Bagels
e. Coffee/beverage store you want the most: Dunkin or Starbucks, either's acceptable.
f. Any additional comments you can offer to make it happen: this would be "the tacky pink flamingo of the Villages." On purpose, as a huge in-your-face touch of whimsy, just like they have at the actual Disney World and at miniature golf locations. You could have colorful pops of artwork and sculptures, retro 1950's architecture.

A small tram system to allow people to ride a tram around the perimeter - that way they can park pretty much anywhere, even if their chosen destination is on the other side of the square and they have difficulty walking that far. They go to the nearest tram stop (which would be open but have a roof, like some bus stops in cities), and wait a few minutes. A tram (basically a high-powered electric, solar, or hydro-powered engine pulling a bunch of golf cart seats on wheels) would pick them up and make a complete circle around the square like a clock - stopping at 1:30, 3, 4:30, 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30, and 12 o'clock positions. At least one of the sections on the tram would be wheelchair accessible.

WVLG would open a new sub-radio station with "modern" oldies, progressive and album-oriented rock and roll, mixed with 1970's bubble-gum music (Partridge Family and Bobby Sherman, anyone?), all the way up to Nirvana and Twisted Sister.

And yes - this square would have a food court!

I read the post before the sender’s name and said to myself, this must be OBB. And I was right!

Love the prog suggestion! Good luck to us!

[bandsdavis]

100% front row seats, all in the shade, so no one has to go early to claim them.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

New Orleans theme
Call it Vieux Carré
Fill it with buskers, street preachers, bums, tee-shirt shops, rip off bars, ghost tours, street artists, mule-drawn carriages, praline shops, and oyster bars.
Shucks, I'm just a little homesick.

[Katieburr]

Originally Posted by MrExcite721

a. Location
b. Name and Theme
c. Shop/store you want the most
d. Restaurant/bar you want the most
e. Coffee/beverage store you want the most
f. Any additional comments you can offer to make it happen

OK, I'll go first !!

a. New extension of 501, south of 470
b. "Adventure Crossing" Indiana Jones/Casablanca/Noir style
c. Hobby Lobby
d. Perkins
e. Dunkin
f. "Grab your whip and fedora, we'll see you in Adventure Crossing"

My idea for a 4th square would be an old world European Square including:
1. Design the buildings like a Swiss Chalet, an Irish Pub, a German beer garden, a French cafe, an Italian Villa, etc.
2. Serve diverse types of foods from around the world to match the building designs.
3. Hold events such as Cinco de Mayo, Groundhog Day (with a Gecko?), Chinese New Year with lanterns, etc.
4. Open a World Market store or Pottery Barn.

[Smalley]

Originally Posted by MrExcite721

a. Location
b. Name and Theme
c. Shop/store you want the most
d. Restaurant/bar you want the most
e. Coffee/beverage store you want the most
f. Any additional comments you can offer to make it happen

OK, I'll go first !!

a. New extension of 501, south of 470
b. "Adventure Crossing" Indiana Jones/Casablanca/Noir style
c. Hobby Lobby
d. Perkins
e. Dunkin
f. "Grab your whip and fedora, we'll see you in Adventure Crossing"

First of all, the entire square should be non-smoking, inside and out.
Stores: independent business preferred like a locally owned coffee shop, breakfast restaurant, Asian restaurant, other ethnic restaurants. We could use a vegetarian friendly-vegan friendly place as well. :

[Villagevip]

Right off the turnpike, to lure tourist off the turnpike, on their way to Orlando....This, demanded by the business owners..
Theme would be, the old south plantation style (politically correct?)..Surrey carriages(no horses) and white columns, cupola surrounding the round bandstand..Plenty of Magnolia tress, mint juleps.. : )