Continuing
on with the topics covered during Tuesday's West Villages Improvement
District [WVID] meeting, the WVID district manager, Todd Wodraska,
reviewed a PowerPoint presentation of finances related to the
district's Operations and Maintenance [OM] accounts. Currently, there
are three district units that have budgets established. Unit one
pertains to items regarding the entire district. Unit two includes
IslandWalk, Gran Paradiso, and the future Town Center. Unit three
pertains to Gran Paradiso only.
Other
than unit three, the district is struggling with budgetary
shortfalls. Mr. Wodraska said that the district is owed about
$100million, with unit one particularly “way in the hole.” This
unit includes funds for infrastructure service facilities such as
fire station, police station, and park lands. However, it was noted
that there are not enough residents of the district yet to warrant
the building of those facilities at this time anyway.
Still,
do not take this shortfall as meaning that the district is in
jeopardy. In fact, all signs point to the contrary. Mr. Wodraska was
quoted in a recent Herald Tribune article
about the district's rebounding as saying, "Clearly, this area
is in play." The article,
from February 21st,
also states that there were 40 homes sold in Gran Paradiso since it
was reopened for sales by Lennar. Actually, as of this past Friday,
the number of homes sold in the community since reopening was 56.
Additionally, at the WVID meeting, permission was approved to move
forward with filing to place liens for collections of outstanding
debt. So, all in all, the outlook regarding the district is
exceptionally positive.
Unit
two was said to be “almost flush”. This unit includes IslandWalk,
Gran Paradiso, and the Publix Town Center project. It was estimated
that there would be project decisions in 12 to 18 months, but it was
also pointed out that Publix decides on opening store locations
purely on the basis of counting rooftops. So, a more precise time
frame for this project initiation cannot yet be established.
In
his budgetary review, Mr. Wodraska did say that Lennar has brought
unit 3 current. Lennar closed on the Gran Paradiso clubhouse early
this month (as noted in a previous
blog), and as a result of the
purchase >$7million was redeemed for the district. This also means
turnover to Lennar of district maintenance contract and the
cancellation of district insurance coverage on the facility. The
insurance premium return alone was about $20k. Mr. Wodraska said that
they need an estimated new lot count for a new methodology report,
but that this means that existing homes will likely see a reduction
in their assessments. He added that some funds have already been
moved as a start toward those reductions as well.
Check
out My
Gran Paradiso website,
and please, contact me any time to assist with your real estate
needs!
Thanks,
Ali
Aileen
“Ali” Johnston, MHA
Realtor®
/ Hoover Realty LLC
mobile:
941-539-5771
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