Sumter County commissioners approved developer Gary Morse's application to use the rezoned land for additional mixed-use and recreational purposes. The 7,000-acre development stretches over Lake, Sumter and Marion counties, the largest commercial/residential/retail enterprise of its kind in Florida.
The community gained additional state and national recognition by being ranked second in residential sales in the US for 2003 in the 10th annual survey just completed by Charles Lesser & Co., a Bethesda, MD-based real estate, advisory and consulting firm. The Villages posted 2003 sales of 3,823, pushing Summerlin, a comparable Las Vegas development, to third place for the first time in six years. Summerlin sales totaled 2,873. The Villages sold 2,356 homes in 2002 and has averaged 2,000 in sales for the past 10 years, according officials at the community.
Morse told Sumter county officials 74% of the rezoned 1,171 acres would be use for the development of new golf courses; 17 acres to build an auditorium for the Villages Charter High School; and 200 acres would be set aside for open space and storm water management.
Under the agreement worked out by the developer and the county, the new development work has to be completed by 2014 instead of 2020. The construction work speedup is expected to lessen the heavy traffic impact on the community and nearby residents, commissioners confirm to GlobeSt.com. The developer also agreed to contribute $90,000 for an impact fee study on the new work.
The community's estimated 40,000 population is projected to grow to 60,000 by 2020, according to staff planners in Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. After its planned expansion, the Villages undertaking will have 43,000 new homes, 2,000 acres of golf courses and two town centers.
A Sprint telephone lineman tells GlobeSt.com, "The construction never stops out there. It seems we're out there every day of the week with new installations." The Villages community is about 50 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando.
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