A controversial pickleball pavilion near The Villages was approved Monday night by the Wildwood City Commission.
Commissioners approved a comprehensive plan amendment and commercial zoning for the Pen-A-ckle Pickleball Pavilon on County Road 44A near State Road 44.
The pickleball courts on four acres are part of an 18-acre project expected to include a 120-room hotel, 70 pickleball courts, 21,250 square feet of retail space, 10,000 square feet of restaurant space and 5,000 square feet of office space.
Owned by MGE Holdings, the covered courts across from the Village of Lake Deaton will use a design technique known as Fabritecture in which a fabric cover offers protection from the sun and rain. MGE is Manual G. Encarnacion of Windermere.
Because the complex is not in The Villages, it probably will not be accessible by golf cart.
At a meeting last month of the Wildwood Planning and Zoning Committee, Village of Lake Deaton residents said they were concerned about noise coming from the courts. Special Magistrate Lindsay C.T. Holt recommended approval of the project contingent on acceptance of a traffic analysis by Sumter County.
No residents spoke at Monday’s commission meeting.
The pavilion would help meet a growing interest in pickleball. An indoor pickleball facility is planned on County Road 466 across from Laurel Manor Recreation Center.
