With the potential $11.7 million purchase of 1,685 acres in Leesburg, The Villages could be taking a big step back toward its Lake County roots.
Harold S. Schwartz and then-partner Al Tarrson originally opened the Orange Blossom Gardens mobile home park on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 in Lake County. However between 1972 and 1983, interest lagged and only 400 homes were built in this premier village, according to the Lady Lake Historical Society. Back in the early days, residents of Orange Blossom Gardens did their grocery shopping in Leesburg because there were no grocery stores nearby. Leesburg was a lifeline for those earliest residents of Orange Blossom Gardens.
In an attempt to improve business, Schwartz bought out Tarrson’s interest and, in 1983, brought his son, Gary Morse, from Michigan to manage the enterprise. Morse closed his restaurant venture in Michigan and moved his family to Florida.
Morse was an advertising man by career and, with his father, saw immediately the possibilities of increased growth and achievement. Father and son began to seriously publicize Orange Blossom Gardens. Ninety-nine manufactured homes were sold in 1983 alone. They realized that an appealing lifestyle was as important to potential retiree home buyers as an attractive Florida location. The mid 1980’s saw improvement in sales, and Schwartz then began to buy large tracts of land in near by Sumter and Marion counties for future expansion. In 1992, the overall development name was changed to The Villages.
Then for years, The Villages focused almost exclusively on Sumter County, rapidly turning pastureland into newly christened Villages. When The Villages ran into resistance in Bushnell, it successfully launched the “One Sumter” initiative, which changed the way county commissioners were elected. The fast-growing Villages population of voters easily replaced South Sumter stalwarts with Villagers like Mike Francis and Dick Hoffman. Today, Villagers Al Butler, Don Burgess and Steve Printz hold three of the five Sumter Commission seats. The Villages’ course seemed to be set directly on its friendly path in Sumter County.
So it was something of a shock in 2013, when The Villages announced an $8 million purchase of the old Pine Ridge Dairy property in Fruitland Park in Lake County. In laying out the plans for 2,000 homes in the Villages of Fruitland Park, Villages representatives forged a partnership with Fruitland Park leaders.
Now it appears The Villages is prepared to do the same thing in Leesburg.
