yes. i had a conversation with someone saying it was forever closed, but i didn't see that mentioned anywhere in a news article. however, if they do have a sign on the door that someone personally saw, it's hard to disagree.

When I was in basic training in the Army, there was a fellow we nicknamed, "Arnie The Sweat." Every time he heard something, the first words out of his mouth were, "Is that a true rumor or a false one?" The developer owns the property - why can't he do to it as he sees fit? It doesn't surprise me that they are considering apartments. Right now, there is a boom in building Assisted Living and Independent Living facilities. Many homeowners are down-sizing as they get older. He sells Villas for people who don't want large homes or large areas of land to maintain. Many people over 65, who come from rented apartments and never had to worry about maintanence would like to live in The Villages. I view this as a smart business move. He's competing with all of the Independent Living Senior facilities that have sprung up and he has the advantage of Village's amenities.

IMHO much of what we know will survive in some form however a large number of small businesses will not survive...small businesses have shallow pockets and depend upon maintaining a constant flow of revenue to meet 'the nut'...closing down for months on end will result in many of them going under....something else will move into the location if it was a desirable location...

some aspects of the economy will certainly immediately experience a 'boom' once it is believed that this pandemic is behind us....we're all tired of being shut in...others will have a longer ramp up

many of those businesses that do survive will have modified their business model...a return to exactly 'what it was' just isn't going to happen IMO

the huge unknown is: with so many out of work and so many businesses going' belly up', what's the approach that various governments will use to continue to meet their ongoing fiscal obligations and begin to pay down the huge debt that cities, states and the Feds are all incurring during this pandemic...

years ago someone estimated that 50% were supporting the other 50%....then I heard a rumor that it was closer to 40% supporting the other 60%....

I'm wondering if I should start stocking up on TP now, cuz if it ever gets to 30% supporting 70% the increased sales and property taxes are going to be crippling

I'll put this into my "crazy rumor" file. It is very large and fun to read.

well said Fred

"Arnie the Sweat"...now that's funny!

Somehow we all remember 'that guy' in the unit. In my basic training unit we had "Rodney Rout-step"...if anybody was going to screw up it was him. When we all moved on to AIT assignments he was left behind, still cleaning out the grease pit waiting for the next BT cycle to begin in a few weeks

In hindsight...maybe he wasn't as dumb as he made out...he was a 2 year draftee, never gave them a hassle about the punishment they handed out and being held over and recycled reduced his chances of heading to Nam....hmmm I wonder if the guy managed to stay in, receive an honorable DD-214 and ended up getting a PhD fully paid for on the GI Bill's dime ????

How many people that complain about the SS restaurants closing bypass these restaurants and travel 5 minutes away to any number of restaurants because there either cheaper, better or for more variety . The SS restaurants need to be more interesting to compete with the highway . I go to almost every show at the Sharon , you would think too jays would stay open on the nights the Sharon has entertainment, many of us are used to having something after the theater, but no there closed and please don’t tel me we are all dying to get home to bed,I’m 81 know lots of people who are not in bed at 10 pm .

Is this a guess or do you have facts to back up your apartment statements (Demshar's & Toojays)?

All this speculation on what will happen to SS shopping area regarding apartments. Why not take the wait and see approach?

Is this your personal thought or are they facts other that Katie's?

The Villages Holding Company owns most of the property where those other facilities are located. They lease the property, so TVHC profits - it's no competition to him whatsoever.

As for why he can't do whatever he wants: the properties are not sovereign land. They exist within a municipality. Municipalities get to decide what can and cannot be built in the different segments of their boundaries. Something that is zoned for commercial, cannot have a residential dwelling built on it without either a) an exception made, or b) a re-zoning. Vice versa: if it's zoned residential, they can't build a store there, or a rec center.

Not without exceptions through what should be a lengthy process, or a re-zoning of the property, which would (in most of the rest of the country) involve mandatory public hearings since it directly affects property values of homeowners located on the perimeter of the property in question.

No idea what the zoning laws are in the towns and counties where these properties are located, but no - the Developer can't just arbitrarily designate a commercial property as a residential multi-plex without a lot of red tape.

UNLESS - the elected officials in those municipalities are cronies, allies, or directly placed by the Developer. And then, he basically ends up with carte blanch to do whatever he damned well pleases - until those elected officials are voted out by someone OTHER than the Developer.

You must be thinking in la la land.
The Morse group need constant streams of revenue. They aren’t happy with that area which is targeted as for a much older consumers. My “realtor” stated they there was an area she wouldn’t sell in. It’s going to gradually transition to target younger people to spend more money

The plans to build apartments and close stores and restaurants extends to
"Spanish Springs Town Square, Lake Sumter Landing Market Square, Brownwood Paddock Square, Hacienda Hills & Buffalo Crossing."

Skip

I believe that the Morse kids are trying to generate a steady income stream that will look good to future buyers if the Villages. It would be great to see them get out of our lives!!

Yes, I'm one of those younger people. Under 60 and still working part time. And living in the Historic section and absolutely in love with the Spanish Springs area. I can't imagine living in any other part of the Villages, though perhaps very close to Sumter Landing some day (within 5 minutes via golf cart).

There are plenty of homes up here for sale by well-known realtors (including the Villages themselves). A few of them are pretty run down and I don't have hope that they'll sell until they foreclose and go for a fraction just to raze the ground and re-build a site-built. But the rest all get sold in a reasonable time (a few days to a couple of months after being listed).

The "younger" folks are already moving in. And we are basically the same age that the first residents were, when THEY moved in, in the 1980's.

Wouldn't there be traffic if the businesses all succeed? How are 1 or 2 people in a few apartments going to ruin the area?

Hum
 

I hope they get a better menu and better prepared food. Twice I have eaten there and was very disappointed in the food I ordered and the price I had to pay for it.

I think it'd improve the area. It'd mean fewer cars coming IN to the Squares - since they're already there. Less traffic, because some of the people who would visit it, already live right there.

This ALSO means a much more vibrant "feel" - with people sitting on balconies at night or hanging out on the front stoop early in the morning to watch businesses open up, the "sleepless" types sitting on the sales office porch enjoying a cup of tea late at night, etc. etc.

Increased population density will require more medical services - Doctors, Dentists and other professionals - more firefighters trained and equipped to fight fires in multiple stories of higher-rise apartments - more police. To offset those additional costs TV Land will be REQUIRED to cultivate diverse businesses there in SS. So, I believe that the square will have a commercial comeback if and when the apartments are successful and filled. Increased sales tax collection will be needed, so the square NEEDS to be a commercial success. One downside MAY (?) be a possible add-on sales tax? It must be hard for the developers to predict all the demographic trends and cross-currents that future predictons demand.

To compete with the Independent Living/Assisted Living models, the apartments would need to be more than just 55+ restricted. They would need to offer scheduled shuttle service to appointments and to golf/rec centers, light house keeping, in house dining w/room service available, laundry service, in house activities and hair salon. They don't provide healthcare but they have representatives from home health agencies available to assist the residents in contracting the assistance that they might need.

Residents moving into a standard apartment setting (not IL/AL) would be doing so mainly to have the convenience of living in a walkable town. These types of apartments would be geared towards generally active, independent people who simply no longer want the hassle of home maintenance/ownership anymore. From what I gather, these are the types of apartments being considered for Spanish Springs.

I believe that lands squarely in the box labeled, "Be Careful What You Wish For".

We're in our mid 50's and we'll be looking at both the Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter areas. I don't want to rent an apartment, I want to buy a house and I would love to be close enough to be able to walk to the squares for dining and entertainment.

We'll be looking at the newer areas, too, but the older areas have a definite appeal. No doubt about it.

That's pointing out a big problem. As you age you tend to move toward instrumental jazz, classical music, mood music, and relaxing music. You joke about "elevator music" when you are age 50 or under, then you age into more mellow music as you drift away from the hard beat of rock and pop as a steady diet. The music at the squares may stay loud and proud of hard-beat dance music. So, the only solution for the apartments is for the architects to have great insulation in the floors and walls and "sound-proof" windows.

Good idea, bring back streaking. And maybe hula hoops.

This has not happened to us, yet, and I'm not sure that it will happen. We enjoy classical symphony and jazz but last night we were cranking the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, The Cult, Clapton....and, of course, Jimmy Buffet.

I think that older people often still enjoy a wide range of music. Their concerts tend to be earlier in the day/evening. I'm not sure when the squares shut down shop but I'm guessing it's a lot earlier than, say, a college town would.

More power to Ya. Kudos! Different folks for different strokes.

I think that there is room for all sorts of musical tastes in a place as big as TV. I'm not sure what the proximity of the live entertainment venues to the apartments going in will be, but it would be cool if you could enjoy a concert from your balcony while having the comfort and convenience of your own bathroom, kitchen, etc right there.

Sounds perfect!
 

Yes, please!

I was just about to say the same thing. The music will be a factor to contend with for anyone with good hearing. I would not ever live so close to live music every night and that music is LOUD.

Just came from Stonecrest Country Club which has been taken over by Demshars. Bought tickets to see Johnny Wild's dinner show. The manager told us that all the employees from the Demshars Spanish Springs location are employed at the new location at Stonecrest.

I surely hope that this is not in the plans. The squares are jammed packed when they feature popular bands. The population of The Villages keeps growing. It does not seem like a good decision to take away entertainment at one of the squares.

If they used the apartments as a reason to stop the live entertainment in the squares, that would be a shame. You would think that a person choosing to live right next to a live music venue would be living there because they want to be close to the live music and all of the action in the town.

I, personally, would prefer to live within a reasonable walking distance of the squares but not actually right there next door to a live entertainment venue. If I could hear the music from a distance at my house, that would be fine. But that's me. I'm sure others would love to listen to a concert below every night.

Here is the entertainment calendar for Cheer's (Demshar's) at Stonecrest. Does one believe if they offered this entertainment at Demshar's Spanish Springs they would not draw as large a crowd as at Stonecrest ? Something smells fishy.

Saturday 19th
- Joe Carter at the keyboard 4:30-7pm
Tuesday 22nd - Clark Barrios Dinner Show 4-7pm
Thursday 24th
- Dunning Shaw Dinner Show 4-7pm
Saturday 26th
- Afternoon Tea with the Queen 1pm and
Joe Carter at the keyboard 4-7pm
Tuesday 29th
- Wine Pairing Dinner 5-7pm
Coming in October
Wednesday 7th
- Stonecrest Homecoming Dance 4-7pm
Wednesday 14th
- Chef’s Cooking Class Demo 12noon
Tuesday 20th
- Johnny Wild & The Delights Dinner Show 5-7pm
Tuesday 27th
- The Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra Dinner Show
Wednesday 28th
- Wine Pairing Dinner 5pm
Thursday 29th
- Chef’s Cooking Class Demo 12noon

I would be among the younger demographic moving into TV (later 50's when we get there). The above musical lineup looks like something that would be offered, and very popular, at my 85 year old mom's Independent Living facility and not something that I would go out of my way to see, myself. There is a definite audience for that entertainment, it is just skewed for an older demographic who grew up listening to it which is fine. So the answer is - my mom and friends would go, but my husband and I would not.

A younger crowd of retirees would rather have: Craft beer/wine/whiskey tastings. Comedy shows. Bands playing oldies from the 70's/80's. Current country music hits. Cooking classes could be fun. Maybe trivia games and other interactive types of entertainment. Football/baseball game or special events like the Kentucky Derby parties.

You better think twice before moving here because those are the top entertainers that play The Villages when it is open for entertainment. Plenty of bowling leagues here also.

Bowling leagues sound like fun and I don't dislike 50's/60's music, I would just rather hear the oldies that I grew up listening, too. My age group is now beginning to retire now so I don't think that's it's unreasonable to want some entertainment options geared more towards my age group. TV is a big place, I really do think that there is room for variety.

A craft beer bar with dart boards and pool tables, maybe outdoor corn hole, would be fun. A restaurant offering low carb appetizers and low sugar drinks would be a hit.

Maybe a fashion show with popular styles in the Villages.

You may have found your calling when you get here by organizing a movement. If you have a large enough peer group that can provide the revenue needed you could make it happen.

I mean, if TV is going to survive then it will require my age group to buy in. I'm not really seeing a way around that. It's less of a movement and more of a cycle of life sort of thing. Only 18 years ago I was 8 months pregnant and had a 2 year old. Now I'm planning my not so distant retirement. Time truly does fly.

I'm not looking to take over TV, I just would like to see some entertainment geared towards my age group which seems reasonable given the investment that we all make to live in TV.

What investment have you made ?

Nahhh, just give me Rocky and the Elders every night. LOL NOT! I agree, the demographic here isn't mostly age 70-80 any more. They need to drop the music era a decade or 2. :) Right now and for the foreseeable future the discussion is moot.

As for restaurants, it seems half of them are owned by the same 1 or 2 groups so if one is lousy the rest usually follow and since T.V. takes a chunk of the business they have to make up for it in higher prices which makes it worse. Sadly, as many of the small restaurants disappear maybe we'll get some variety. My wife is a vegetarian and she can only eat so many sides of steamed broccoli or a veggie pizza as her dinner in restaurants around here and I HATE vegetables so it's tough for us to go out to eat. I think TPTB need to find a better arrangement for stores and restaurants to make an easier living or every building in the squares will be apartments since no one will be able to successfully run a business. It amazes me how some of the retail businesses here survive.

I'd give my left pinky for Demshar's to turn into an open "food court" type place, a la Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Could have a taco stand, a shawarma place, a gyro joint, pizza-by-the-slice, oyster/raw bar, hotdog specialty place, a curry cafe, local-roast coffee bar, fresh-made chocolate chip cookies right off the conveyor belt-oven (if anyone remembers the Boston Chipyard, that's what I mean - THE BEST EVER). Another place that specializes in seafood, such as an order of whole-belly clams, or a lobster roll, breaded fried shrimp, and so on. Fresh-filled cannolis with your choice of flavors or dip-ins.

Each booth or stand or bar would be individually owned, and they'd all pay a share of the rent. It'd be like a permanent food truck festival without trucks, and all under a roof to protect from the elements.