Wikipedia....................the rest of the story.
Fruitland Park predates the American Civil War, although the name of the town didn't come until later. It was originally called Gardenia. The earliest settler was M. Calvin Lee, of the Evander Lee family of Leesburg,[5] who planted a citrus grove. After the war, a son-in-law of the Lee family, P.S. Bouknight, homesteaded 40 acres (160,000 m2) near Mirror Lake.

In 1875 the State of Florida sent Capt. Kendricks to the northern part of the US to talk about the advantages of living in Florida. Due to Major Orlando P. Rooks poor health, and already considering a move, he had his wife, Josephine, moved to Fruitland Park.[6] They built their first home on Crystal Lake in 1877. It was here that the first white child, Frederic, was born in 1882.

The Fruitland Nurseries of Augusta, Georgia, was owned by J. P. Berckmann, friend of Major Rook. Major Rook named the town Fruitland Park for the nurseries, and the main street Berckmann Street for this friend.

The plan shows homes, rec centers, and 1 9-hole golf course. No commercial space.

Does this mean that people who live there will NOT have The Villages as an address?

one can use whatever town/city name they like to see on their address as long as the zip is correct.

The zip is the determining factor of getting your mail.

btk

I'm sure it will be as well thought out as possible and the Morses do have a very good track record. However, it is not an attack on the Morses to point out that continued expansion can have negative effect on the existing property owners. As you have pointed out, the crush on the Colony Publix is already too great. Add another 4,000 people to the customer base and it's going to get that much worse.

As also pointed out, as well as the Morses plan, they do not control how many super markets go into an area. It will be up to a competing chain to determine if the demand is sufficient to support a second store in the area. One thing that looks clear, however, is if there is a second store, it is not likely going to be golf cart accessible since there is no commercial space as part of the new acquisition and there doesn't appear to be sufficient Village-owned available space in the immediate Colony area. This would mean that unless TV acquires additional land in FP for commercial space, any new grocery store would be on non-TV property and hence no golf cart access. This of course would factor into any grocery chain's decision about expanding into that area.

Bottom line is that we need to stop thinking that all expansion is good. Once expansion exceeds the original plan, in all likelihood it will be negative.

.....Huh ?????

The Origional Plan had NOTHING South of County Road 466.

We were told in 2000...
..."We will never build Housing South of CR 466, there is no land available."

Clyde Bailey and Jack O Dell both decided to sell their massive ranches.
We now have Bailey Trail and O Dell Circle....

......the Baker heirs decided to sell almost all of their 1200 acres around the Lake Deaton area off CR 44a...

...in 2003 the Developer gave land at Interstate 75 and CR 466 to
facilitate building an exit there...this is quite a ways WEST of Wal-Mart 466.
..do you suppose something is going to happen out that way?

By 2015 we will have an Exit off Morse Blvd. (a.k.a. CR 468) Two miles
South of State Road 44. for On and Off ramps to The Turnpike.
Yes, the Developer gave that land to make it happen.

......more than half of The Villages is an EXPANSION of the "Origional Plan.


Do we think it is over yet???

I'll bet Publix doesn't agree with you

I prefer it to Vegetableland Park.

I am new to the Villages having just moved into Pinellas south of 466A where we are getting a sizable plaza of a Sweetbay, Walgreens, medical offices, etc. My question is what was the original plan of Swartz and Morse and has it changed over the years? If expansion has exceeded the original plan before isn't it in all likelihood that this could be a positive step forward?

it is all a function of land availability at the right size, price and location.
In 2005 (or 2006) when the horse ranch on 472 was the right price it was bought by TV ans became Bridgeport at Sumter shores or something like that.

I bet that was an evolution and not part of a plan envisioned by the Schwartz empire.

Back then if someone told Schwartz TV would be building and selling $250,000 to $one million plus homes as fast as they could be built he probably would have laughed you aotta the room.

Like all good plans there is an ability to change/modify/amend it to meet the situation.

There is no doubt a master chart of potential land sites somewhere in the executive think tank.

btk

Some business's actually acquire their own land. This could happen along 466A and a new grocery store could be built. Not golf cart access,so what, if the courrent location is as bad as some whiners have posted............get in the car and go to the store!

OK, let me re-phrase: When piecemeal additions are made to a master plan, negatives occur. With a huge addition like that below 466A, they at least had the luxury to add sufficient amenities such as championship and executive golf courses as well as regional rec centers and space for commercial property to deal with the influx of new people. However, since this master plan accounting for the area south of 466A, there have been numerous new residential areas created over and above the original "Final Phase" as the developers called it.

Even at that, one could argue that even the expansion below 466A had negative impacts in terms of overall traffic congestion that occurs during snowbird season.

I am not a Morse basher at all. They have created a wonderful area to live and deserve every million that they have. However, as a resident, I am at a loss to see much in terms of positives with this additional growth. Even with the typical good planning that they do, can anyone clearly lay out how their personal enjoyment of the Villages will get better with an additional 4,000 people coming in (on top of the other thousands of people that have been added since the "Final Phase" master plan was submited to the county)? However, I can think of a lot negatives - especially for those of us in the Colony area.

Maybe you should try modifying your brush and state that SOME enterprizes make piecmeal additions..............

Since most of what is south of 466 was/is/will be piecemeal....I hardly think one can say it was not done well.

If one has a plan, especially one that has worked for over 40 years, the people who administer it are wise enough to know what works and what does not. And each new "piece" seems to add value to TV lifestyle and investment.

Just look at the pricing that is going to be used in The Fruitland Village....surely based on experience, supply and what we all help with DEMAND.

Many cities have grown successfully over the years, let's say the last 100 or two.....all piecemeal and a part of the original plan.

btk

Sorry, I don't buy that most of the areas that have been done are done in a piecemeal basis. When they buy huge tracts of land at a time such that they can create a real plan to include the "right" number of golf courses, rec centers and commercial areas, this is master planning done right.

However, since the acquisition of the bulk of the land south of 466A and its corresponding master plan, there have been nothing but piecemeal additions to that that add many thousands of additional residents into an area without the addition of any amenities to accomodate them.

Check out any number of threads about:
1) Horrendous golf cart backups trying to cross the road leading to Colony Plaza

2) Publix overcrowding in Colony

3) Lack of swim lanes in the sports pools

4) Overcrowding in the fitness centers

5) Inability to get tee times during the winter

6) Inability to get into art classes, etc.

Not only will all of these problems get worse with more people, it points to the fact that even the master plan is not all that perfect.

I don't put any credibility in price points reported in the newspaper, but even if they are true, who cares? It doesn't impact me one bit. I would be much happier if the lifestyle does not get eroded than leaving my heirs more money.

"Horrendous golf cart backups, Publix overcrowding, lack of swim lanes, overcrowding in the fitness centers, inability to get tee times in the winter, and inability to get into art classes, etc." Oh my!

I don't think things are as apocalyptic as you describe. The world is not coming to an end.