A 500-home family subdivision west of U.S. 301 for people working in The Villages was announced Wednesday night at the annual “Evening with the Developer” event at the Savannah Center.
The subdivision, known as Oxford Oaks, will feature a similar mix of home styles to The Villages with villas, ranches, designer and premier homes, according to sales director Jennifer Parr.
The announcement came as developer Mark Morse, other family members and Villages officials spoke to a packed house about new projects and the community’s progress over the past year.
Although construction has yet to begin on the 2,000-home expansion of The Villages in Fruitland Park, officials also announced that entire build-out of The Villages will be finished in about two years.
Rising home values were a major bright spot, according to the report. The average value of new homes is up to $292,000 from $260,000 last year while the average value of pre-owned homes has risen 27 percent to $253,000 from $199,000.
Over the past year, the community has added 85 new businesses with a 98 percent occupancy rate for commercial property. Retail sales were up 11 percent overall and Villages residents bought $226 million worth of groceries.
Gordon’s Garage, a service business for golf carts with gasoline sales, is slated for Lake Sumter Landing. The new center at the Church on the Square site in Spanish Springs will be called the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, although the mix of performances has yet to be decided.
Brownwood Paddock Square will have 265,000 square feet of commercial space when completed, officials said. Still to be added are Gators Dockside, TooJays, Cody’s and Las Tapas restaurants as well as SAS Shoes. The Pinellas Plaza shopping center along Highway 466A has 81,000 square feet of commercial space with 98 percent occupancy and a Marathon gas station soon will be added.
Recreation centers recorded 170,000 hours of use with 11 million visits over the past year, said recreation director John Rohan. The community now has 73 pools, 120 pool tables and 100 pickleball courts. More than 5,700 baseball games were played, double the number played each year in Major League Baseball.
Big Cypress and Eisenhower recreation centers were opened. The El Santiago and Tierra del Sol centers also will be renovated. The Atlas Recreation Center for pets and a recreation center named for Rohan, who has been with The Villages for more than two decades, also are planned.
The Fruitland Park expansion will include the Okeechobee and Moyer recreation centers. Belle Glade Country Club also is planned. A presentation on the new area included video shot from a drone.
Among other topics covered at the meeting:
• Seventeen of the 36 doctors in the Villages Health System have reached their maximum number of patients. Five clinics are open, up from one a year ago. An $80-million expansion at The Villages Regional Hospital will add 100 patient rooms plus operating rooms and other space.
• The Villages Charter School will enroll 3,000 students next fall. About 98 percent of them graduate and 92 percent go to college. About a third of the parents of charter school students work in health care.
• About 72 percent of villagers have accounts with Citizens First Bank, which soon will add a mobile banking app that will allow transactions from cell phones.
• The Polo Fields hosted 4,800 horses at 800 events and gave away 8,000 glasses of champagne and 4,500 beers over the past year.
Reporter Carl Branson also contributed to this story.
