Villages developer H. Gary Morse dies at 77

THE VILLAGES — Harold Gary Morse, the man from humble beginnings who took his father's small mobile home park and created The Villages, the wildly popular retirement mecca whose presence has transformed North Central Florida, has died at age 77.

"Gary was a champion of Florida innovation," Gov. Rick Scott said in a prepared statement. "When molding The Villages into the one-of-a-kind community it is today, Gary demonstrated what makes our state so great — the idea that anyone can make a positive, lasting impact in the lives of generations to come. Gary's boldness and entrepreneurial spirit is known internationally and helped define Florida as the place where anything is possible."

According to the Villages Daily Sun, Morse leaves behind his wife, Renee; son, Mark; daughters, Jennifer Parr and Tracy Mathews; and stepson Justin Wilson. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Morse began building his expanse of homes in the 1970s with 400 mobile homes in the Orange Blossom Gardens mobile home park off U.S. 441/27. The small space has now flourished into a community of almost 100,000 residents in a development spanning more than 40 square miles across Lake, Marion and Sumter counties.

On Thursday afternoon Dolly Carter, 66, stood outside her home in the oldest section of The Villages. She said she has been told that her street, Nell Way, and the next street over, Vermont Avenue, are two of the originals.

Carter has been living in her home for about 1½ years and loves the area. "It has everything you need and you never run out of things to do," she said.

Dave Parady, 71, of Summerfield, was visiting Carter. His mother used to live in a small home around the corner, built in 1973 and purchased by his family in 1982 for $16,000. The home is about 850 square feet.

Parady remembers in the beginning driving to neighboring towns to purchase gas and bread — long before the rows of stores that now border the roadways.

The sprawling acreage includes more than 100 restaurants, 76 recreational facilities, almost 4 million square feet of commercial space and nearly 600 holes of golf, according to the Villages Daily Sun

"We're not necessarily selling homes," Morse told Florida Trend in 2001. "We're selling happiness."

Some say the area has become too commercial. Eugene Groves, 70, purchased his home in 1990 in the old section. He and his wife are homebodies and he points to some recent crime and congestion as some unfortunate consequences of the urbanization.

In addition to drawing retirees from across the country to North Central Florida to shop, eat and play, The Villages created towns, golf courses and recreational facilities just a golf cart ride away. Morse's empire has also created jobs in retail, education, construction, health care, and other fields seeking to bring easily accessible services to those living out their golden years.

Morse's kingdom even boasts its own newspaper, radio station and television channel, and has become a key stopping point for local and national political candidates.

Brett Doster, president of Front Line Strategies, a public relations firm in Tallahassee, has been bringing Republican candidates through Florida since 1993.

"The most important stop on that tour has always been The Villages, a world conceived and built by Gary Morse and filled in and made real by the tens of thousands of people who fell in love with his vision and made it their home," Doster said in a statement Thursday.

Morse was one of the top fundraisers in 2000 for former President George W. Bush and has also aided other candidates.

His political clout has been beneficial to the area. When The Villages Regional Hospital wanted to expand its 60-bed offering some years ago, officials picked up the phone and sidestepped the lengthy uncertain certificate-of-need process with special legislation that was then signed by Gov. Jeb Bush.

When Morse built the first commercial district, the Villages Town Center, in the early 1990s, he financed it by creating community development districts that float tax-free bond issues.

"No one else had really done that," said Jay Thompson, division president at rival Del Webb Spruce Creek development a few years ago. "That took vision and courage."

As The Villages rapidly expanded, some towns were swallowed up into the machine, while others that sit on the perimeter enjoy the benefits the name has garnered without losing their own identity.

"I think as The Villages gets bigger and gets more crowded it's actually been a benefit to us because we're actually getting the overflow," said Belleview Mayor Christine Dobkowski.

She can remember its beginning as a mobile home park and says she's really noticed the impact on south Marion County in the last four or five years.

"I think quite a few people around here commute to The Villages for jobs," Dobkowski said. "I think even more than into Ocala at this point."

Dobkowski owns the small business Mr. and Mrs. BlindMaster with her husband, Bob, and she said the company routinely has work in The Villages. And that goes for other local construction-related businesses, as well.

"The Villages has just had this huge impact and I think it's going to continue," she said.

Dobkowski expressed her condolences to Morse's family and recognized he leaves behind quite a legacy.

Mariah Moody, executive director of the Belleview/South Marion Chamber of Commerce, also remembers the site of farmland on the way to The Villages about 24 years ago.

According to Moody, Belleview-area residents like to go to The Villages because they feel like they are on vacation, and Villages residents like to come northward to shop in local independent stores that are a bit harder to find in The Villages.

"It's like a tradeoff," she said.

She has also noticed local businesses using their proximity to the retirement community in their advertising.

On Thursday afternoon, some American flags that dot The Villages were lowered to half staff. Near one of them, construction crews were hard at work continuing to build Morse's vision, which is likely to continue along with his legacy.

"He did a great thing for this area," Dobkowski said. "And built something I think is unprecedented."

Contact April Warren at 867-4065 or april.warren@ocala.com.