West Villages Improvement District: Region right for relocation

By DANIEL SUTPHIN and ALEXANDRA HERRERA Staff Writers Sep 30, 2019
https://www.yoursun.com/venice

VENICE — A move to the region must be a smart one — or at least a popular one — because a lot of people are doing it.

The Punta Gorda metropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Charlotte County, recently took the No. 3 spot on a list of the top 20 U.S. MSAs to where people are relocating.

The North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA, which includes Venice, Nokomis, Osprey and West Villages, ranked fifth.

The list was put together by Business Insider, an American financial and business news website, based on the highest net migration between 2010 and 2018 using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates program.

For the Sarasota and Bradenton counties, there was a net migration of 140,889 between 2010 and 2018 — 20.1% of the metro’s 2010 population of 702,281.

For the Punta Gorda metro area, there was a net migration of 36,551 between 2010 and 2018 — 22.8% of the metro’s 2010 population of 159,978.

For the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area, much of it has
to do with West Villages.

West Villages, technically a part of North Port with a lot of Venice connections, is one of the fastest-growing, master-planned communities in the country.

The master-planned community has several developments and amenities — the largest recently being CoolToday Park, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves.

Earlier this year, the West Villages ranked fourth in fastest-growing master-planned communities in the U.S., according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

West Villages President Rick Severance credits the allure of the area.

“(It’s) the proximity to the attributes to employment and the location,” Severance said.

Not only is there an economic corridor, but its also the beaches and activities in Venice, Englewood and North Port — from concerts to sunsets to volunteer opportunities and social organizations.

Children moving into West Villages tend to attend Taylor Ranch Elementary, Venice Middle and Venice High schools — among other options.

Severance said people are moving from all over the U.S., though the largest percentage of people moving to the area may be surprising.

“There is a large percentage coming from Florida,” he said.

The people moving to the West Villages involves mostly early retirees and empty-nesters, followed by families.

“We’re seeing a significant number of families, it could be the schools and the amenities,” Severance said.

Officials with the the Punta Gorda metro area also note its proximity to the waterfront and other opportunities.

“Babcock Ranch is booming and trees are being cleared in West Port (formerly Murdock Village) for additional single- and multi-family development,” said Julie Mathis, executive director with the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce.

The No. 1 spot is The Villages, near Ocala, had a net migration of 43,639 between 2010 and 2018 — 46.7% of the metro’s 2010 population of 93,420.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate