By the time the size of TV reached about 45,000 homes [2013] there were several championship courses, dining at country clubs, dozens of restaurants, pharmacies, big box stores, small specialty stores, gas stations, … either on the premises or on the adjoining streets.
With the next 60,000 homes there have been almost no new championship courses, almost no new stores or restaurants, almost no country clubs for dining.
So to look at the past and claim it is no different is simply not true.
As to what the Morses could do to encourage commercial development there is a very simple idea. Lower the rent for the first five years of the lease. Businesses would get a foothold in the plazas and they'd fill in rapidly. There are more than enough residents south of 44 to support commerce with help from the landowners it will happen more quickly.
Of course that would cut into the profit margin of those landowners for a few years, but an empty storefront makes them nothing. So win/win.

I am amazed that people blame the EPA and permit problems as reasons for the slow progress on commercial development. That same EPA and those same permitting agencies seem to have not slowed development at Trailwinds. The Morses could not be operating in a county that is more friendly to the wishes of developers than is Sumter where it seems that the county commissioners are nearly hand picked by the family.

I think the frustration of the OP is justified and fact based. The Villages has long presented itself as a golf cart community. So if you live south of 44, where do you shop or eat that is golf cart accessible? And it has now been almost 3 years since Fenney opened. Still only the Grill and the food trucks are on site.

And with no town square in any announced plans, it is going to be six plus miles by cart to Brownwood. For all those who say that is close enough and not at all different than previous development plans..
If you live north of 44 I believe that you can never be more than 4 miles from at least one square. And most people are within 5 miles of two of them.

No, the planning and design and building of structures of other than houses has been very different south of 44. Whether you view that difference as a negative is up to you, but to claim it has always been like this is inaccurate.

I don't know how many homes are down here to date but I would guess somewhere between 6 and 7,000, It will be a lot of years before there are 45,000 homes south of 44 and I would guess by then we will have everything we need.

All The Above!
 

Thanks for the advice, we are doing everything you suggested.

Future Villagers
Spring 2020

I have read many times that the folks who have purchased south of 44 prefer a more serene and quiet environment and more beautiful than the northern Villages. That is the appeal for purchasing down south.

Pine Ridge is close to 8mi from a square.

Brownwood will be less than 4 mi once the connectors are in.

You’re going to burst the negativity bubble with facts.

Why don,t we all get together and demand the finish the Plaza !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH Also the Bridge that was to be finished by Jan 2010 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

WE also need to give FENNEY GRILL Competition !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, let me tell you ,the Villages knows whats going 2 be dune !!!!!!!!

https://cdn2.thevillages.com/wp-cont...olia-Plaza.jpg

Magnolia Plaza

2020

Daily conveniences are just a golf car ride away. The new Magnolia Plaza will feature a grocer, financial services, pharmacy, and a variety of restaurants.

With 11 shopping plazas located throughout The Villages community, residents and surrounding community locals can shop top-notch retailers from grocers such as Publix, Walmart and Winn-Dixie, to restaurants, clothing boutiques and specialty service businesses.

Convenient access to shopping plazas is high priority to residents; therefore The Villages Shopping Plazas are strategically placed throughout the community. Magnolia Plaza, the 12th shopping center of The Villages, is currently being developed and is expected to be completed in 2020.

You mean 2020? It's finished, it just doesn't go anywhere.

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...cd&oe=5E6F3686

Close to 5,000 new people move into The Villages in new homes a year. You would be hard pressed to find similar building going on elsewhere in the Country. The Villages is a phenomenon that defies most companies marketing strategies. The other big difference between The Villages and other 55 Adult Communities is that the Village Developer controls most of the land, all the new houses, most of the commercial properties and has designed The Villages so golf cart access is controlled by The Developer. Gary Morse and his “family team” have designed a phenomenal planned unit development that is admired by not only other Developers but also by those who have purchased here. Is it perfect and are there “bumps in the road? Of course. If I was 20 years younger, I would have been one of the pioneers that moved south of State Route 44. Patience my friends (I can understand some of your frustration) it will all come together in the next 18 months or so. Fore.

By my calculations, Pine Ridge is about 5 miles from Lake Sumter and about 6 miles from Brownwood. But, it is also within a mile of 2 grocery stores, 3 drug stores, 2 rec centers, and 8 restaurants. Who needs a square?

Recalculate from the Eastern edge in Fruitland...