Villages Commercial Sales and Leasing Director Scott Renick debunked a handful of myths circulating in The Villages during Thursday morning’s Rotary Club meeting at La Hacienda Recreation Center. Renick opened the morning’s discussion by asking Rotarians and guests if they had heard about the rumored mall on State Road 44 and then indicating that it was a myth.
“It’s not going to happen,” said Renick in regards to the rumored mall. Renick also dispelled rumors of construction of a replica city modeled after The Villages in Texas, and a common misconception that the sales and leasing office receives a percentage of business’s sales. He also discussed areas in which the community is currently developing, including the planned assisted living facility Buffalo Crossing. Renick also provided insight into misconceptions and general misinformation that many businesses incorrectly use in their decision-making process to stay out of the Villages.
Renick indicated that at just over 100,000 residents as of March 1, 2014, The Villages now has a larger population than a collection of other Florida cities, including West Palm Beach, Miami Beach, and Daytona Beach. Renick discussed ongoing construction (west of U.S. 301 in Oxford) of a new community to address the “demand for workforce housing” that the growth in The Villages has created. Although it is difficult to determine the exact number, Renick estimates that a few hundred thousand people comprise the community and economy of The Villages each year. He cites visitors, students, professionals and a collection of others who live, commute, and frequent the Villages.
Despite everything listed above, the perception of the size and accompanying services in The Villages is largely speculative among outsiders. The physical size of the community and accompanying workforce are obvious to those living in and around The Villages, but Renick indicated that a common misconception among businesses interested in moving into The Villages is that the area might not support their business. He indicated this misconception was driven by bad data. He provided multiple examples of businesses that, until they visited the area or learned more about The Villages, had little or no interest or understanding of the active adult community.
During the question and answer portion of the morning’s discussion, Rotarians asked Renick about a few well-known, larger corporations including Costco and Whole Foods, and major department stores like Macy’s and Dillards. “We’ve talked with Costco off and on for a number of years,” indicated Renick of the possibility of the popular wholesale franchise moving into The Villages. He suggested that the perceived “size” of The Villages and existence of similar company’s have both played parts in the company’s reluctance to consider a location.
“If we could get the demand for it…we have the area to do it…it’s just balancing out [whether we can] get the interest,” Renick stated of the interest from larger department stores. One Rotarian asked about interest from large sports stores similar to Dick’s Sporting Goods or Sports Authority. Renick indicated that larger sporting goods stores were unaware of the sports market in The Villages.
One very important element in determining which businesses are targeted more heavily than others is the resident survey. To learn more about the survey, click here:Â Villages Surveying Residents through April 6th, 2014.
What restaurants, department stores, or grocers would you like to see in The Villages? Â Leave a comment and share your thoughts below!
