Earth moving has begun and site plans for the first homes in the Village of Fenney were recommended for approval Monday by the Wildwood Planning and Zoning Board.
Special Magistrate Archie O. Lowry Jr. reviewed site plans for more than 230 homes, a recreation center, postal station and road in the proposed village, which is four miles down County Road 468 from The Villages. The site plans may come up for approval by the Wildwood City Commission later this month.
The newest Villages community eventually will have 3,000 homes and 160,000 square feet of retail space on 1,047 acres southeast of County Road 468 and U.S. 301. The land is owned by the Wildwood Springs company, which will develop the infrastructure, while The Villages will build the homes.
The Wildwood Springs development was proposed in 2008 and last fall the concept was changed to an age-restricted community. The partnership with The Villages was announced last month immediately after the project was approved by the city commission.
The site plans recommended include a 129-lot subdivision of detached homes, the 60-unit Sand Pine Villas, the 49-unit Bougainvillea Villas, the 14,775-square-foot Fenney Village Recreation and Postal Center, the 1,320-square-foot Village of Spanish Moss Recreation and Postal Center and Fenney Path, the primary road into the development.
The Fenney Village Recreation Center will include a pool, restrooms, storage, pickleball courts, shuffleboard, bocciball and a pavilion on about 13.3 acres.
Fenney Path will be a four-lane road that narrows to two lanes. It will not use curb and gutter for drainage as will other roads.
Before recommending the site plans, Lowry focused his questioning of project and city engineers on drainage. He asked whether drainage plans would be capable of handling heavy rains of three inches in an hour.
“This is the largest development in the city of Wildwood to date in terms of homes,” he said, adding that he wanted to make sure everything is done correctly.
Project engineer Jim Head said earth moving began this week in preparation for construction.
In other projects, Lowry:
· Recommended a zoning change on 8.5 acres along County Road 462 so New Life Christian Church can build a sanctuary building.
· Recommended a site plan for the Enclave Recreation and Postal Center at Lakeside Landings along County Road 472.
