The Village of Fenney may be about four miles down County Road 468 from The Villages, but its residents won’t be treated as step-children.
They apparently will have access to recreation centers, social groups and golf courses in the rest of The Villages and all Villagers also will have access to the Fenney amenities.
The newest Villages construction project of 3,000 homes and 160,000 square feet of commercial space on 1,047 acres southeast of County Rod 468 and U.S. 301 was approved Monday night by the Wildwood Commission and the state has reviewed the project.
The commission actually approved the Wildwood Springs project and the Villages partnership with that developer was not revealed publicly until after approval. The Villages is not mentioned in voluminous documents prepared for the approval process, although one sentence states that “the developer of the property may be some person or entity other than Wildwood Springs.”
Reader & Partners of Orlando, the developer, will build the infrastructure while The Villages will build and sell homes as well as develop the amenities. Dean Barberree, president of Reader & Partners, said construction will begin by the end of the year.
Barberree said the partnership was kept secret because partnership negotiations were still going on, but some area construction companies apparently were told last fall to prepare for another major Villages neighborhood construction project south of State Road 44.
The Village of Fenney will have 169 acres of wetlands, flood plain and environmentally sensitive areas and a minimum of 25 percent of the development must be open space, according to agreements with the city of Wildwood. A 150-foot buffer will protect Fenney Spring, a centerpiece of the project.
The community will have a primary recreation center and three neighborhood centers, similar to other villages. A 9-hole or 18-hole golf course may be built on 30 to 90 acres on the southeastern portion of the property.
Homes are required to have energy efficient features such as low flush volume toilets. Pedestrian and bicycle paths will be included and possibly golf cart paths. But residents won’t be able to drive their golf carts to courses in the main part of The Villages.
The first phase, scheduled to be completed by 2024, will include 160 multi-family units and another 80 multi-family units would be added by 2029. The agreements offer some flexibility to the developer in adjusting the number of homes.
A community development district will be established and Wildwood has exempted areas governed by community development districts from maintenance and performance bonds required of other developers.
The documents do not mention a town square, but a commercial area will be developed near the intersection of CR 468 and U.S. 301.
Gated access may be installed at several points and a traffic study estimated the development would generate 13,501 daily trips.
Wildwood Springs was proposed in 2008, but the project was delayed by the recession. Last fall, the developer asked to change the project to an age-restricted, active adult community.