[Mleeja]

If the residents would have patronized Katie Belle’s (either version) we would not be having this discussion.

The next thing, the upper level will be converted to apartments then the residents of the apartments will complain about the music on the square being to loud or long!

[jerseyclone]

Originally Posted by John41

One more amenity bites the dust in America’s friendliest home town. Katie Belles is to become apartments in Spanish Springs. Apparently the developer is on a rampage to convert The Villages into a mixed multi family community for which the roads were not designed to hold the traffic. Urban sprawl at its worst.
Is the Waterfront Inn at Sumter Landing next?

The developer has to be stopped from dumping his failures to increase unwanted development by the residents.

[psgolf@comcast.net]

well said. disgusting the greed !!!!!

[George Page]

-LEASED residential and commercial property is the gift that keeps on giving with MONTHLY rents while selling a house is only a one time score.
-Not to mention, the development cost per apartment front door is a lot less than a stand alone single family front door.
-Additionally, more bedrooms (higher density) means more foot traffic, and more foot traffic means HIGHER monthly commercial rents.

Real estate development...........
It’s all about the Benjamins baby!

[J1ceasar]

In any normal City. There are apartments . not everyone wants a 2000 foot home . nor needs one . grow up . it's the developers land .

[miharris]

It's irrelevant whether a restaurant is an official "amenity" or not, the trend of more people and fewer amenities is a bad trend. How appealing would a square with all apartments and no stores or restaurants be to you? I'm sure the developer would have a hard time using that as a marketing tool. Same thing for HH, I have a hard time imagining agents promoting a house near the country club as being "walking distance" to an apartment complex. Don't get me wrong, we love the villages and are happy we moved here, but nothing is so permanent that it can't be ruined by bad management.

[UseYourBrain]

Agree. The new generation developers seem to have little idea of what we enjoy And what attracts people to buy here. I would assume they do marketing research but, as someone who has been in corporate life my entire career, marketing research often does not get at the right information. The original Katie belles is a good example. Would something like that be discovered or correctly assessed in marketing research? The real value is. It obvious until you see the exact product Obviously, the concept was a very good one as the universal opinion is that the revised Katie belles was not as good and they miss it very much. I’m on the younger end of age here and I spent many enjoyable nights there. If it wasn’t profitable enough, then tweak it don’t replace it.

We need more unique attractions and those seem to be disappearing. The town squares is another unique attraction. Now, we will just be a big boring sprawling community. Cmon. Where are the wow factors?

[crash]

Originally Posted by pkfavreau2

I thought Katie Belles was resident owned. That is at least what we were told, of course they renovated it without any residents input. Oh well.

None of the commercial property is resident owned but all the rec centers are.

[jbrown132]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

1,000 apartments vs 60,000 homes...............they will need a bigger fly swatter before they can kill anything.

Look at it this way, when the building finally starts to slow down 1000 apartments at say $2000 a month on average would generate $2 million a month or $24 million a year in revenue. Not chump change.

[perrjojo]

I am wondering about the floor plan of these apartments. Doesn’t the building code require each room to have a window? I’m sure the developers know but I can’t quite envision it.

[Dgodin]

Originally Posted by Dond1959

I think Katie Belle’s in the Brownwood location is a great idea! Now, all you have to do is raise the capital, plan the location, and execute your plan! Any business has to make money for the investor or it doesn’t work. You may of loved the place the times you went there, but not enough people supported the business to keep it going. The same with HH country club. The developer provides plenty of opportunities for businesses to open and succeed. It is up to the business and customers to ensure the business stays feasible. If any business, no matter the location, is not profitable it will not stay open. It is not the obligation of the developer to keep these businesses open.

We don't know whether Katie Bells was viable because none of us have seen the books. It is possible the developer saw a greater return on apartments and closed Katie Bells even though it was profitable.
Spanish Springs square has fewer shops than either Lake Sumter or Brownwood and I would rather had a new restaurant take over.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by perrjojo

I am wondering about the floor plan of these apartments. Doesn’t the building code require each room to have a window? I’m sure the developers know but I can’t quite envision it.

Open concept would seem to solve that problem

[MoNonnon]

Am I wrong? I thought I read that only the second floor would have some apartments at Katie Belles....

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by MoNonnon

Am I wrong? I thought I read that only the second floor would have some apartments at Katie Belles....

Katie Belle's is only the second floor. The first floor is Soft Surroundings. The second floor is being repurposed to multiple apartments.

[papillon]

I wouldn't think an apartment overlooking the busy Spanish Springs square would be very desirable. EVERY night the noise from the entertainers. EVERY night listening to all the drunks on patios of the restaurants. EVERY day all the traffic. EVERY day a lack of parking spaces. All those strangers right outside your "home". Not a very desirable location to live, in my opinion.