Is This the End of the Town Squares in The Villages?

My wife was out golfing Friday with a sales agent from The Villages, and somewhere during the round, the conversation turned to what’s coming next for The Villages town squares..

One comment stood out.

He mentioned there are already long-term development plans stretching out well over a decade. And while areas further south are still in early phases, it sounds like planning is already moving beyond them — including concepts that don’t quite follow the traditional Town Square model.

That raises a reasonable question.

Are we starting to see a shift away from the classic Town Squares?

The Original Squares Still Follow a Pattern

If you’ve been here a while, you know the three main ones:

• Spanish Springs
• Lake Sumter Landing
• Brownwood

They all follow a similar structure — and it’s part of why they work.

You can drive your golf cart around the square, park without much trouble, grab a drink, listen to music, and move freely through the space.

But one detail matters more than it seems:

They’re easy to walk.

There’s a natural loop. You pass the band, circle around, stop if you want, keep moving if you don’t. Nothing feels forced.

They weren’t just built to visit — they were built to linger.

Sawgrass Feels Like a Different Approach

As development moved south, Sawgrass Grove came along.

From firsthand experience, it feels different right away.

Instead of a loop-style square, it’s more of a central destination:

• One main entertainment area
• A single full-service restaurant
• A food hall with mostly takeout-style options

It’s active, and it’s clearly being used.

But it also functions differently.

You don’t really move through it the same way. There’s no natural circulation path, and once seating fills up, it often shifts into a bring-your-own-chair setup.

Some people like that. Others see it as a more limited version of what the older squares offer.

Both views exist, depending on who you talk to.

Eastport Continues That Direction — At Least for Now

Further south, Eastport is taking shape.

As of now, the scale of development there is hard to miss. Construction is moving quickly, and you can see the broader vision starting to come together.

But again, the layout doesn’t follow the traditional Town Square format.

You don’t drive around it. You park and walk in.

The entertainment area is there, but seating appears limited at this stage. During a recent visit, people were setting up chairs along sidewalks in front of unfinished storefronts to watch live music.

That works for now.

It’s less clear how that will function once those storefronts are fully open.

What Might Be Changing

When you look at how The Villages town squares have evolved, the shift becomes easier to see.

Looking at all three phases together, there does appear to be a shift in how these spaces are designed:

• Earlier squares emphasized movement, circulation, and flexibility
• Newer areas feel more centralized and destination-focused

There could be practical reasons behind that:

• Land use constraints
• Different approaches to traffic and crowd flow
• Changing preferences in how people use these spaces

Or it may simply be an evolution in design.

At this point, it’s not fully clear which direction future developments will take.

The Open Question

The original Town Squares are still heavily used — and there’s a reason for that.

They’re simple, social, and easy to navigate.

The newer spaces aren’t necessarily worse.

But they do create a different kind of experience.

Whether that fully replaces what people value about the original squares is still an open question.

Author: Dave