The Lady Lake Commission on Monday night signed off on the annexation of 269 acres of pastureland that will be the future home of 576 apartment units, 359 single-family homes and commercial development.
The Meucci property is located across County Road 466 from Spring Arbor Village and on the opposite side of Cherry Lake Road from the new Lake Sumter Apartment Homes.
The buildout of the phases of the development is expected to take several years.
Mayor Ruth Kussard played hardball with representatives for the project, trying to wring promises out of them one more time.
She again requested that Greg Beliveau of LPG Urban and Regional Planners specify what kind of housing will be going in at the site.
He pledged it will be “workforce” housing and not “subsidized” housing.
“People like teachers, nurses, policemen, firefighters,” said Beliveau.
He described these future residents as, “Those who are working to support The Villages and environments around The Villages.”
The mayor, a resident of the Village of La Reynalda, also asked for help in pressuring Lake County officials with regard to improving over-burdened roads in the area, including Rolling Acres Road, where traffic is likely to swell even more thanks to the Meucci property development.
“We have been fighting the county for years trying to get those roads widened,” Kussard said.
She also wrangled some concessions on behalf of the residents of Spring Arbor. The lighting from the commercial area will not be intrusive to Spring Arbor residents and the commercial entry and exit will not be across from Spring Arbor.
The Meucci property had been eyed for development in 2016, but the plan for housing, apartments and retail stalled.
Shirley Janye Henjum Meucci, the family matriarch, died Jan. 3 at age 93. She was a member of Hope Lutheran Church in The Villages and had been living at American House assisted living in Wildwood at the time of her death. She moved to The Villages in 1996. She left three sons, including Triston Meucci, who is frequently seen taking care of the property.
