The room was so packed that some people
who wanted to attend could not get in. Marty Black was very gracious and
accommodating, and so held a SECOND session with individuals willing to wait
until the room cleared from the first meeting. Both were very good and very
informative.
Marty was also obliging in that people
had many questions and interests in information that was actually outside of
the scope of the scheduled meeting, yet he did his best to share as much
information as he could. A lot of the specifics that people would like to know
aren't available for various reasons, like non-disclosure agreements or plans
not being complete.
An example would be about the possible
stadium for the Braves. The Braves have moved forward with hiring a local
architect to study designs and costs associated with locating their training
facility here. Plans are not drawn up for a stadium, though, and there are actually
two possible locations for a stadium within the district. If it is just the
Braves, it would be a location closer to the Northeast section of the district.
However, it is hoped that a second baseball team will locate here, and that
would mean a larger and shared facility would be built. They have been in talks
for some time with several other teams. If it is a shared facility, it would be
located more toward the center of the district. And, if we get two teams, then
we also get a 'grapefruit league' team, which would make for year-round
entertainment at the stadium.
This neighborhood meeting was actually
about the process of Village Development Pattern Plan "D." This is
the section of the West Villages next to IslandWalk to the east and south of
US41. Pardon my rudimentary map markup, but the fuchsia represents Coastamar,
the new commercial section. This is in the permitting process, which takes
about a year, but the plan is to have it open for business by Thanksgiving of
2017. The yellow on the map is to be residential, and the red is mixed
residential with some multi-family building alternatives of 2 to 3 stories. A
mention was made that plans for the area include some housing for the college (Much
needed, I am sure. It was not mentioned in the meeting, but planned and
possible expansion in programs will make additional housing of critical need to
the college).
Coastamar is to resemble downtown
Venice - but improved. Sidewalks are to be much wider, allowing for outdoor
eating and plenty of walking, biking, and golf cart accessibility. Plus,
improvements for parking are planned as well. Marty said that in planning, he
is a fan of John Nolen and Frederick Law Olmsted, which really bodes well (in
my mind) for the direction of the West Villages. John Nolen designed the
original plans for Venice, with concepts of lifestyle and accessibility being
of utmost importance. Frederick Law Olmsted was many things, particularly a
landscape architect, who had a focus on functional park landscapes that were
both natural and sustainable. He was a proponent of bringing forestry science
to America.
As for the traffic light, if you have been
reading my blogs regularly, you know that it is being evaluated for a roundabout.
Marty made mention of this at the meeting. We should know the results of that
evaluation at the end of the month. Marty also said that FDOT promised to have
a community meeting regarding traffic control at the intersection of
Corradino/Galleria and US41.
There were some other odds-and-ends
brought up, but I think those above are really the 'biggies' that I took away. There
are some other little items that I will save for another post.
Hope that is helpful! Let me know if I
can answer any questions for you.
Thanks for reading.
Ali
Ali
H. Johnston, MHA, MBA in Real Estate
Realtor®,
Lic. Broker #BK3284964
West
Villages Realty LLC
Mobile:
941-539-5771
If
you are considering purchasing a home in this community, I can assist you. My
services and extensive resources are of no cost to you, and in most instances,
I am even able to save home buyers money. I do not work for any of the wonderful
builders/developers in the West Villages Improvement District, or any others
for that matter. My services and information (including the resources provided
on all of my websites) are wholly independent of these
developers. No other independent professional is more knowledgeable about this
community, and enlisting me to assist with your transaction can provide you
with a wealth of information as well as saving you money.
Look
forward to hearing from you!
