Benderson Development, working in collaboration with The Villages, is preparing to launch Legacy Place, a large-scale mixed-use project planned for Central Florida. The development will span approximately 700 acres and extend along roughly three miles of Florida’s Turnpike, positioned near County Road 470 and Central Parkway. Envisioned as a new southern gateway to The Villages master-planned community, the project is intended to integrate retail, dining, wellness, healthcare and public spaces within a single destination.
A central component of Legacy Place will be a new hospital campus operated by AdventHealth. The health system plans a 25-acre facility that will anchor the broader development. The hospital is designed for 80 beds and will include emergency and surgical services. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the facility projected to open in 2030, providing a new healthcare option for residents of The Villages and the surrounding counties.
At full build-out, Legacy Place is expected to deliver 3 million square feet of space dedicated to shops, restaurants and wellness-related offerings. The AdventHealth hospital will be a key part of this overall program, supporting both medical needs and broader lifestyle-driven uses. The plan also calls for walkable public areas intended to connect various components of the development and to integrate Legacy Place into the larger fabric of The Villages.
Benderson Development will phase Legacy Place over time, with the initial portions of the project anticipated to open in 2027. While specific phase details have not been disclosed, the staged approach is intended to allow the retail, restaurant and wellness components to come online in alignment with the hospital’s delivery schedule and the ongoing growth of The Villages community.
The Villages itself is an active adult master-planned community with a reported population of more than 150,000 residents. Its existing campus covers more than 30,000 acres across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties in Central Florida. Legacy Place, positioned at the community’s southern edge, is being planned as an additional entry point that will expand services and amenities available to current and future residents.
By adding a hospital, large-scale commercial space and public areas along a major transportation corridor, Legacy Place is set to represent a significant new mixed-use hub for The Villages, while also enhancing the regional healthcare and retail landscape in this part of Florida.
