[NEO300]

Not exactly in Hawkins, but we were told at the New Resident Expo that Villages Grown will be opening a larger permanent location in the yet-to-be-built Sawgrass Market in St. Catherine.

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by NEO300

Not exactly in Hawkins, but we were told at the New Resident Expo that Villages Grown will be opening a larger permanent location in the yet-to-be-built Sawgrass Market in St. Catherine.

I think they'll need some help in marketing. I don't know how well that is going over.

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by billethkid

For some who have gone out of business it is very convenient to blame the high rent......usually not the reason.

Well, yes and no. Some businesses might feel the EXPECTED or promised traffic will allow them to absorb those higher rental fees and then fail because they don't get the expected traffic (business) OR as busy as it is it's still not enough volume to cover their expenses. So from that prospective high rents can cause business failures for small and medium sized individual businesses. We owned a small (under $1mill) business up north for over 30 years between ~1970-2000 and year after year as larger businesses wanted to move in our rents and fees and percentage of taxes the landlord wanted moved up and up way above what would have been considered normal until eventually, even with the same thriving business we failed because the costs were out of control. In our case the landlord in our thriving town tripled our rent to get rid of us so a CVS could move in. As it turned out 2 years later that CVS left town to move 3 miles away sticking the landlord for 17 remaining years on the lease and the store remained empty for something like 10 years. Haven't looked recently so it could still be empty or maybe it's now a parking lot. As of now the "small town" we were in is thriving but filled with major merchants many of which who can absorb all the costs by spreading it among their hundreds or thousands of locations.

Think of it as the small single owner local restaurant who can't survive now due to covid but many major restaurant chains can afford to stick it out. It's the little guy that is affected by high rents and there is really no place for them to go but out. Same thing happens in good times when landlords jack up rents with the object of not giving the little guy a chance because he can (RIGHTFULLY) get more $$$$ from the big guys resulting in the wiping out of major numbers SMBs nationwide.

So yes, HIGH RENTS, FEES & TAXES will prevent and/or kill SMB's from either moving in or surviving if they try. That's why in another 5 years (thanks to COVID rushing it along) the only shopping you will likely have is Amazon (slight hyperbole of course).

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Presumably everyone wants to see continued growth of our community.

Hopefully everyone meets somewhere that will allow this to happen,

That 'continued growth' attitude sounds like it might be the desire of Villagers - but - reading the online news that can't be mentioned/cited, the rest of Sumter County does not appear to hold that same perspective!

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

That 'continued growth' attitude sounds like it might be the desire of Villagers - but - reading the online news that can't be mentioned/cited, the rest of Sumter County does not appear to hold that same perspective!

The other source has a very openly negative bias against The Villages and will put a negative spin on any event or subject in an effort to denigrate the community and its residents.

With respect to the rest of the county, a large portion make their livings as a result of The Villages and the associated construction activities. Having spent quite a bit of time in the southern end of the county I found it amazing to listen to some (a minority number) residents and business owners complain about The Villages only to see a steady flow of traffic from the construction workers buying the gas, shopping the stores, and eating at the restaurants they run or work at; not realizing impact of the 2nd, and 3rd level, and other economic impact of the work and community.

They love the income and tax dollars that the community brings in but hate the source, a typical NINBY attitude. Continue growth in Florida is inevitable, people will continue to move here (I hope they leave their failed politics behind when they move here) and developers will continue to develop new communities. It is the quality of the community developed that will make a difference for the future of the county, you can end up with a successful community like The Villages or one like Lehigh Acres, I'll take the former.

Talk to the people building this community and you'll find a much different story than you might read on other websites.

The future of Sumter county will depend on how the local communities adapt and grow with the county's primary industry. Will Center Hill, Sumterville, and Webster follow the lead of Wildwood and embrace their economic good fortune and future, or will they take the route of Coleman and bury their heads in the sand and fight it at every turn?

[VApeople]

When we moved here in 2016, there was a lot of building in Osceola Hills.

I asked one of the middle-aged workers if he liked working with The Villages and he gave an enthusiastic Yes.

I asked him if he would like to live here and he said, "Hell No".

Another worker said that before The Villages, there were no decent jobs between Ocala and Orlando. He said things are much better now.

[STLRAY]

I recently purchased a lot in Saint Catherine’s for a future home to be built this spring. I would like to find some detail of what is going to be built in the sawgrass market. I see some general information but nothing specific and no detail. Does anyone know where I might find more detailed information.

[tghoul]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I recently purchased a lot in Saint Catherine’s for a future home to be built this spring. I would like to find some detail of what is going to be built in the sawgrass market. I see some general information but nothing specific and no detail. Does anyone know where I might find more detailed information.

see the attached link. Starting at the 16:12 minute mark

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I recently purchased a lot in Saint Catherine’s for a future home to be built this spring. I would like to find some detail of what is going to be built in the sawgrass market. I see some general information but nothing specific and no detail. Does anyone know where I might find more detailed information.

You'll have a better chance finding out who really shot Kennedy or what really happened in Roswell NM. The Villages is very very good at keeping secrets and not revealing information until they are ready. No specifics or details have been released yet, just generalities of what is to come.

[Laker]

I own commercial property and had two big-business tenants who wanted to exit their leases early. After talking to our attorney and other owners who had been through the same situation we found out that a typical deal was to get 2 years rent upfront when they left, and be able to re-rent the space. In both instances we took the check for 2 years rent and within 3 months had the spaces re-rented.
A lease is a contract, I guarantee you that CVS didn’t walk away scot-free. They might have just continued paying the rent every month for years, I have seen that happen also.
Just an FYI....