The Villages - May 2019 - 31

Nestled among the Florida oak trees near the
Village of Marsh Bend north of Warm Springs
Avenue are the new Cattail Recreation Area
and the Marsh View Pitch & Putt.
Offering fun activities for Villagers south of Florida's
Turnpike, both locations opened in mid-March and
residents have been enjoying the amenities ever since.
The locations are among the first of many
recreational hot spots located south of the Turnpike,
and many more are in the works as the area continues
to expand and residents move into the villages of Marsh
Bend, Fenney, DeSoto, McClure and Linden, as well as
other future villages planned for the region.
We talked to Danny Jacobs, recreation facilities
manager with The Villages Recreation and Parks
Department, and Dale Storbeck, facility manager at the
Hammock and Tall Pines golf facilities, who oversees
Marsh View Pitch & Putt. The pair gave us the lowdown
on the new areas and shared more about what each
location has to offer.

Cattail Recreation Area

Located in between Marsh View Pitch & Putt and
the upcoming Lowlands executive golf course, Cattail
Recreation Area offers amenities both new and familiar
to residents.
"It's a new concept that The Villages is trying,"
Jacobs said. "It's really cool. If you had to associate
Cattail with something it would be more like a
traditional neighborhood center, except a hybrid. With
a neighborhood center you don't have pickleball courts,
but here you do have two pickleball courts. There are
two shuffleboard and bocce courts, as well as two bag
toss courts. So it's almost like a neighborhood center
on steroids."
A swimming pool and postal facility round out the
familiar at Cattail. The pool offers views of the Marsh
View course, and Jacobs said developers kept the
natural setting intact by leaving oak trees and other
plants untouched.
The Villages Recreation and Parks Department is
trying some new things with Cattail as well. Later this
year, the recreation area will be home to an array of food
trucks and a beer and wine hut for visitors to enjoy.
"(The Villages) is really looking to draw people in and
make this a hub where people can come have a drink
and a bite to eat," Jacobs said. "Food trucks are very
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The Villages - May 2019

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