To the Editor:
The founder Harold Schwartz and his son Gary Morse had a vision. They designed a “Walt Disney” like community for adults. A fun and active place to live out your golden years.
Everyone gets around on golf carts, which serves as the main transportation for many. Everything you need in life can be accessed by golf cart.
There is music and dancing every night in the three town squares. You have activity clubs, free golf, pickle ball, swimming pools and lots more.
After Gary Morse’s passing at the end of 2014, his children took over.
The third generation greatly accelerated the growth of The Villages by buying massive amount of land and building new housing. Now they are “reimagining” the country clubs and the town squares. The Hacienda Hill Country Club has been torn down and they are planning to build rental apartments in its place. They are also planning to build rental apartments in the Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter town squares.
We have no transparency and no communication into what their plans are for The Villages in the future. Where will their rental apartment vision end? Will other country clubs, golf courses, and other preserve lands be repurposed for these apartments?
They are drastically changing the vision that their father and grandfather had for The Villages.
So if you are thinking to retire and move to The Villages, Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, think again. Do your homework before you invest money and time.
We hope and pray their vision to embed rental apartment complexes within single family homes and in the town squares will not negatively change the life we currently enjoy here. We just don’t know because the developer is being very secretive about what is going on here.
Marie Duthie
Village of Santo Domingo