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The Villages
Friday, March 29, 2024

Residents witness demolition of a bit of bittersweet Villages’ history

A crew demolishes the El Santiago Club restaurant.
A crew demolishes the El Santiago Club restaurant.

A handful of residents gathered Friday morning to witness the demolition of a bit of Villages history.

The old El Santiago Club restaurant is being remembered as a friendly spot for karaoke, refreshing cocktails and tasty food.

The beach-themed restaurant closed more than two years ago.

The demolition will make room for the new El Santiago Recreation Center.

“The drinks here were really good,” said snowbird Murphy Occhino. “They were really good.”

The Upstate New Yorker sat in his golf cart and watched as the crew knocked down the restaurant.

John ller watches the demolition of the El Santiago Club restaurant.
John ller watches the demolition of the El Santiago Club restaurant.

John Iler of the Village of Santo Domingo peered over the construction fencing which sealed off the demolition area.

“It was a great place to go after golf,” Iler said. “It wasn’t a pretentious place. It was light and fun.”

After the last drink was poured and the final karaoke singer hit the final note more than two years ago, the restaurant and its future generated plenty of controversy.

In 2013, the Amenity Authority Committee spent $350,000 to buy the restaurant building from the Developer only to discover it in poor condition. After several months of debate about the future of the building and hearing from residents who vehemently wanted a restaurant back, it was ultimately decided to demolish the building and build a recreation center.

Mark Cook Builders handled the demolition Friday.
Mark Cook Builders handled the demolition Friday.

On Feb. 11, the AAC awarded the contract for the demolition and reconstruction of the new recreation center to Mark Cook Builders even though that company’s proposal for the project was nearly $200,000 higher than the contractor who came in with the lowest price. Cook’s proposed price was $1,774,608. Emmett Sapp Builders came in with the lowest price of $1,584,000.

In all, seven contractors submitted proposals.

In January, Emmett Sapp had appealed directly to the AAC to reconsider the proposal, igniting a vigorous discussion about the request for proposal process used by the AAC.

 

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