[richdell]

Great video as always, Don. Your information is always helpful.

[EviesGP]

Thanks, Don.
I agree on the Sawgrass Grove interior noise. I/we noticed that first time it opened. That whole area is going to challenging(IMO).
#1. I think the square area is a bit small(for that many homes down there).
#2 The stage roof seems a bit high(shelter from rain?).
#3. The parking(which will be shared by restaurant patrons, Sawgrass patrons, and the Rec Center. Oh, and you have to park, go thru the little mall to get to the golf shop, then go back out and across the road to golf?

On the Trailwinds area. Have you heard anymore about the Ocala hospital? Seems like it died on the vine?

Thanks.

[coffeebean]

Thank you for this wonderful video. Don, do you have any idea how long the walking path is around Lake Mion Rec Center?

[TommyT]

It's my understanding BUGG SPRING is on the property of a facility known as the Underwater Sound Reference Division of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and is not accessible. It is mostly surrounded by swampland with sandhills to the south.

[Glorantha]

Don, another informative video.

I don’t see any traffic circles being constructed on Meggison Road, is this something that happens further down the construction timeline. I can see this being one of the busier roads in TV and I don’t see how they are going to slow the traffic. I see the construction of some golf cart trails, but not any tunnels crossing Meggison.

[John Mayes]

Originally Posted by EviesGP

Thanks, Don.
I agree on the Sawgrass Grove interior noise. I/we noticed that first time it opened. That whole area is going to challenging(IMO).
#1. I think the square area is a bit small(for that many homes down there).
#2 The stage roof seems a bit high(shelter from rain?).
#3. The parking(which will be shared by restaurant patrons, Sawgrass patrons, and the Rec Center. Oh, and you have to park, go thru the little mall to get to the golf shop, then go back out and across the road to golf?

On the Trailwinds area. Have you heard anymore about the Ocala hospital? Seems like it died on the vine?

Thanks.

There is parking right outside the golf shop. You can go in and out of the shop without going through the Market.

[champion6]

Originally Posted by EviesGP

<snip>
On the Trailwinds area. Have you heard anymore about the Ocala hospital? Seems like it died on the vine?

In March 2021, Hospital Corp of America purchased the parcels east of Publix from the Trailwinds developer. Since then, nothing more seems to have occurred as to obtaining the permits needed to begin construction.

[mikemalloy]

Don, do you have any information about a possible sports pool in Richmond? I'm in north St. John's where we don't have a village pool for about 4 miles. Richmond would be closer than Everglades or Eisenhower.

[Dond1959]

Originally Posted by jrref

Don, great video as always. How are the new schools in Middleton going to affect our school taxes? Is Middleton in Sumpter or Lake counties?

I understand the reason for building the schools, etc, but i'm concerned the school budget may get too large for us to pay for.

Back in NY every town and village had to have their own school system and school taxes were out of control which is why i'm concerned. I understand there will be a new population base to help spread the costs but some more detail or insite would be great on this matter.

The schools are being built and paid for by the developer to attract quality employees who will work for the Villages and certain businesses. It is a significant investment by the developer. The family housing near the schools will pay property taxes like the rest of us. So I don’t see a major impact on our school taxes from the charter schools.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Thank you for this wonderful video. Don, do you have any idea how long the walking path is around Lake Mion Rec Center?

Seven-tenths of a mile long.

[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

After a 2-month hiatus I’m back with a new video update of the construction happening in and around The Villages. I started on this video several time but with everything that was happening every time I sat down to edit, everything was out of date. Last Sunday I got out and shot fresh video updates of all the important stuff going on and over the next four and a half days I’ve managed to get the video put together. Of course, as I was shooting and doing the editing I found even more to report on, but I’ll save that for upcoming videos.

Please enjoy the video and remember to support my sponsors.

https://youtu.be/Vg_B7q_-88s

Here is a list with links to the various areas covered in the video so you can jump to the areas you want to see.
0:19 Sawgrass Grove
5:04 Lake Miona Walking Path
5:52 Sprouts
6:24 Hobby Lobby
6:55 Culvers/Hilton Hotel and area north of Pinellas Plaza
8:50 7-11 on 44A
10:06 Lake Deaton Plaza
10:44 McDonalds at Brownwood
11:24 Okahumpka Rec Center
12:43 7-11 at Magnolia Plaza
13:44 US301/Warm Springs commercial buildings
15:10 Southern Oaks Bridge
16:53 Buena Vista Blvd extension
18:25 DeLuna
20:25 South of Monarch Grove
22:15 Middleton area
25:53 Eastport
27:40 Village of Richmond
31:21 Village of Newell

Don, you do good work!

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by jrref

Don, great video as always. How are the new schools in Middleton going to affect our school taxes? Is Middleton in Sumpter or Lake counties?

I understand the reason for building the schools, etc, but i'm concerned the school budget may get too large for us to pay for.

Back in NY every town and village had to have their own school system and school taxes were out of control which is why i'm concerned. I understand there will be a new population base to help spread the costs but some more detail or insite would be great on this matter.

The developer is actually paying for the entire new schools project, not the taxpayers, so it doesn't affect the school budget. The student population doesn't change dramatically year-over-year so the operating costs increase much each year either - when it opens they HS students will move here, and others will be redistributed between the new and old schools. The developer picks up a substantial portion of the operating cost (most people don't know or realize this) because they consider this an employee benefit and a part of the cost of doing business. The "greedy developer" and their subcontracts give back a lot more to the community than the "internet experts" know or can comprehend.

The local portion of your school tax continues to decrease, the state portion not as much, check your TRIM notice.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by mikemalloy

Don, do you have any information about a possible sports pool in Richmond? I'm in north St. John's where we don't have a village pool for about 4 miles. Richmond would be closer than Everglades or Eisenhower.

Nothing is planned for the area. Your drive to a sports pool is similar to many others here in The Villages. Some have longer, some have shorter.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by EviesGP

Thanks, Don.
I agree on the Sawgrass Grove interior noise. I/we noticed that first time it opened. That whole area is going to challenging(IMO).
#1. I think the square area is a bit small(for that many homes down there).
#2 The stage roof seems a bit high(shelter from rain?).
#3. The parking(which will be shared by restaurant patrons, Sawgrass patrons, and the Rec Center. Oh, and you have to park, go thru the little mall to get to the golf shop, then go back out and across the road to golf?

On the Trailwinds area. Have you heard anymore about the Ocala hospital? Seems like it died on the vine?



Thanks.

#1 - it's about the same size as the Brownwood area, just no seating.
#2 - agree
#3 - yes shared parking, 420+ car spaces, double or more with just golf carts, there's an outside entrance to the golf shop so you don't need to go through the market area.
#4 - nothing yet, hospitals take a long time to design and build, because of the support systems involved they are some of the most complex buildings to build and take a long time to design (I worked several before retiring from the construction industry).

[Marykess1802]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

After a 2-month hiatus I’m back with a new video update of the construction happening in and around The Villages. I started on this video several time but with everything that was happening every time I sat down to edit, everything was out of date. Last Sunday I got out and shot fresh video updates of all the important stuff going on and over the next four and a half days I’ve managed to get the video put together. Of course, as I was shooting and doing the editing I found even more to report on, but I’ll save that for upcoming videos.

Please enjoy the video and remember to support my sponsors.

https://youtu.be/Vg_B7q_-88s

Here is a list with links to the various areas covered in the video so you can jump to the areas you want to see.
0:19 Sawgrass Grove
5:04 Lake Miona Walking Path
5:52 Sprouts
6:24 Hobby Lobby
6:55 Culvers/Hilton Hotel and area north of Pinellas Plaza
8:50 7-11 on 44A
10:06 Lake Deaton Plaza
10:44 McDonalds at Brownwood
11:24 Okahumpka Rec Center
12:43 7-11 at Magnolia Plaza
13:44 US301/Warm Springs commercial buildings
15:10 Southern Oaks Bridge
16:53 Buena Vista Blvd extension
18:25 DeLuna
20:25 South of Monarch Grove
22:15 Middleton area
25:53 Eastport
27:40 Village of Richmond
31:21 Village of Newell

Totally enjoy your updates of places I will probably never see. Thanks for keeping us informed. Congratulations on winning the elections.