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The Villages
Friday, March 29, 2024

The Villages expected to nearly double in size in next 20 years

As home building escalates south of the Florida Turnpike, The Villages is expected to nearly double in size in 20 years, according to development plans approved Monday by the Wildwood City Commission.

The plans allow 60,449 homes in three designated areas along with 17.8 million square feet of commercial space and 222,000 square feet of office and governmental space.

The Villages north of State Road 44, not including the villages of Southern Oaks and Fenney, has about 65,000 homes.

The new projects will extend southward to State Road 48 at the city limits of Center Hill and do not include land acquired by The Villages in Lake County near Leesburg, where another 2,800 homes can be built.

The latest development agreements divide The Villages projects into three areas. Area A is the original Villages of Southern Oaks south of State Road 44 on both sides of the Florida Turnpike. Area B, which includes 4,132 acres, is south of County Road 470 where the 8,000-home Landstone development was proposed more than a decade ago. The 8,354-acre Area C is south of the Coleman federal prison in an area known as Stuart Ranch.

In Area A, 24,845 homes are planned along with 2.5 million square feet of commercial space and 32,000 square feet of office and governmental space.

Area B will include 18,413 homes, 2.3 million square feet of commercial space and 110,000 square feet of office and governmental space.

Area C will include 16,191 homes, about 3 million square feet of commercial space and 80,000 square feet of office and governmental space.

The agreements also call for development of a 432-acre industrial park south of Coleman. A related agreement with Sumter County requires a fourth town center or “comparable mixed use retail center” in the Villages of Southern Oaks.

A traffic analysis by the Kimley-Horn & Associates consulting firm found that the entire development will generate 35,932 new external afternoon trips by 2040. Networks of new regional roadways are planned for all three areas. Under a roadway construction agreement, Sumter County will reimburse The Villages or its related entities for construction of the regional roads.

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