6 minute read
INSPIRATION
–DON WILEY
movie theaters, shops, restaurants, etc., all built with the idea of a place retirees could live the dream in “Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.”
According to the U.S. Census gures, The Villages was the fastest-growing metro area in the country, growing 39% from 93,000 in 2010 to 130,000 in 2020.
The mega retirement community is in three counties, several municipalities, and there are no signs of The Villages slowing down any time soon as Mark, Jennifer, Tracy, and other members of the Morse family are committed to The Villages’ brand. They also have over 15,000 employees, which is bound to grow too.
“People want to know about the future of The Villages, and it is right here. We are doing it every day,” Tracy says on the video, adding the younger generations of the Morse family are actively involved, too, living and working in The Villages in various and di erent capacities, “bringing incredible talent to the table and we are very proud of all of them.”
“It’s not the nal chapter,” Mark adds on the video. “We’re going to be around, our kids are going to be around, and we have a lot of work here to do for a long time.”
BUILDING HOMES
Villager Don Wiley, a Navy veteran and retired construction project manager, marvels over the wellcoordinated system of The Villages’ construction of new homes, which averages about 350 homes a month.
“It’s a well-oiled machine, and the coordination is just absolutely phenomenal … Here, they do the foundation and a day or two later the blocks. When they’re done, they move down the street,” Don says, adding the construction process resembles a smooth assembly line with di erent contractors keeping each other informed of when speci c work is done at a unit and it’s ready for the next crew.
“They got very tight schedules; they are able to keep the quality up because if they slack o , they don’t get work … I’ve met second- and-third-generation workers saying, ‘My grandfather poured concrete when Harold was around in the 1980s and 90s,’” adds Don. “The Villages provides a lot of nancial stability for construction workers.”
Don keeps up on construction of the new village neighborhoods as he shoots residential construction photos, aerial-view videos, and does drone photography for new Villagers’ homeowners who contract him through his company, Gold Wingnut Productions, LLC.
He also uploads Villages residential and commercial construction projects on YouTube and has generated nearly 15,000 subscribers.
“People come here, they buy a lot, contract to build a home, and then they have to go back up north. So, I watch the home for them as it’s being built. I try to shoot every house three times a week,” Don says, adding his current clients are from Washington state, Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, etc., who are having custom homes built in The Villages, ranging from $500,00 to $1 million.
“They like the fact that they get a bird’s-eye view of what is going on,” says Don. “The customer that I have from California is totally delighted with the value they are getting. They are moving from a much smaller home to a very large designer home that has been highly customized. It’s absolutely gorgeous. The pool is gorgeous and they’re right on the golf course.”
Being a retired construction project manager, Don looks for obvious problems that might occur during the construction process. “When I walk into a house, I look at it with a di erent eye than the average resident,” he says, adding there’s rarely a problem that needs addressed.
Don enjoys going to Villages open houses once the homes are built, and he says the amenities are impressive to see, everything from high quality luxury ooring, tile, very little carpet, granite countertops, marble, and tile backsplashes. “It used to be basic, boring light xtures. Now the people doing the designing and styling really have taken it up a couple of notches.”
He says the market is “hot” of Villages new and preowned homes.
“Twenty to 30 prime lots get released at noon and ve minutes later they are all gone. It is just absolutely insane, but The Villages have a product that people want,” says Don. “I think people have gotten tired of the policies and politics up north and said it is time to retire, or they realize that they can work from home. If I can work from home, why not do it where I’m going to retire?”
Sharon Bassett, broker with Bassett Premiere Realty, Inc., The Villages, says the appeal of low housing costs, no state taxes, and Florida’s beautiful weather attracts buyers from all over the world. “The retirees of today are seeking homes and communities that provide an active and ful lling lifestyle,” Sharon says. “They are looking to enjoy popular amenities like pickle ball, tennis, swimming, golf, restaurants, and traveling in golf carts. This area boosts several communities providing a Disney-like playground for mature adults.”
Kara Wisley, Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Realty in Mount Dora, learned the popularity of The Villages when her company had a listing in the community. “It was crazy with 15 o ers the rst four days, and it sold for $20,000 over list price.”
Bidding wars of buyers paying $100,000 over asking price has happened, too, which doesn’t surprise Don. “Late last year a courtyard villa in my neighborhood sold for nearly $40,000 over asking price, and it sold prior to the public listing of the property.”
He says the villa he and his wife Debbie purchased in 2013 has gone up 80 percent. “I’m not looking at it as an investment monetarily, I’m looking at that investment as into my health and happiness.”
Don also is involved in The Villages’ local government, chairman of community development while he serves on District 10 Board of Supervisors of the Community Development District (CDDs), which are special-purpose local governments, structured to allow developers the ability to issue low-interests bonds to build infrastructure and amenities for the district.
“As a district supervisor, I have to maintain a level of neutrality,” says Don adding he is not pro-developer or anti-developer. “All I care about is what is good for the residents.”
FUTURE PROJECTS
There are 90-some named Villages neighborhoods, along with several currently under construction in the area south of State Road 44, and others being planned that have not been o cially named.
One of Don’s recent construction update videos shows aerial views of new businesses and amenities popping up around the southern part of The Villages, and the new neighborhood villages of St. Johns, Sawgrass Grove, Richmond, Hammock at Fenney.
It is an amazing process watching The Villages grow,” says Don. “Based on what we know they have acquired, we are looking at another 20 to 25 years of building that they have coming, and that is going down south of County Road 470 for about eight miles. This is a massive construction project and I have not seen a scale like this from the time I was in the construction industry for 20 years.”
In 2021, The Villages opened the Brownwood Bridge to Magnolia Plaza, and celebrated the opening of Ezell Recreation Center, which is themed with golf décor to commemorate the history of golf in The Villages and longtime course architect Kenny Ezell.
“The current generation of the developer that is running things, they have taken a di erent approach,” says Don. “They are more interested in maintaining as much of the natural area as they can, so there is a lot more greenspace around here in the new sections.”
He touts the new walking trails in the community, including in the Village of Chitty Chatty, which he says has
–SHARON BASSETT
