COURTESY : Orlando Sentinel
Published October 28, 2003
BY Lisa Emmerich 

THE VILLAGES - Paradise Center isn't very heavenly these days, according to some Villages residents who arestarting a campaign to have the center torn down. They hope a shiny new building like the recreation centers constructed in The Villages' newer neighborhoods will replace Paradise, the community's oldest center.

Joe Gorman, president of the Villages Property Owners' Association, said the center has a laundry list of problems that grows steadily. Termite damage has eaten away beams in the room where he plays bridge, a leaky roof moistens several spots in the complex, there's a musty smell, and mildew dots the halls.

"There are so many problems with the Paradise Center that any effort at repair is just a stopgap effort, it just perpetuates the problem," he said. "What was a beautiful facility 25 years ago has become outdated, and its deficiencies have become obvious."

Gorman's organization is set to create a committee to deal with the problem. Gorman said the group will lobby Village Center Community Development District officials to tear down the center and erect a new one that caters to residents' needs.

VCCDD Administrator Pete Wahl said The Villages' government arm is already responding to concerns about the center. He said the center is among the older buildings that the district owns, and its problems grow as it ages.

The center was built in five phases, the first one before 1975 and the last in 1987, Wahl said.

Portions of Paradise Center, on the east side of The Villages at 1403 Paradise Drive, are constructed like a mobile home, and that's the section officials are thinking of replacing, Wahl said.

"We have had some issues with termites that we deal with on a maintenance basis," he said. "We respond immediately and appropriately."

Wahl said government engineers have evaluated the center's problems, and a formal investigation would probably be scheduled. Wahl said a renovation to the center would likely be written into the 2004-2005 district budget.

Connie Waldron, who has taught dance classes in The Villages for 16 years, said she didn't notice any termite damage in Paradise Center. But she said the stage in the main auditorium didn't compare to newer recreation center stages in other neighborhoods.

"The stage is not anywhere big enough," she said. "It [the center] certainly needs an update. It needs larger facilities."

Sharon Pederson, who runs the Way, Way Off Broadway club, said the older building needs a face-lift to bring it up to par with the area's newer centers. While the auditorium works well for her group's play rehearsals and the acoustics are top-notch, Pederson said the buildings could use some "bright-colored paint just to make it look a little brighter and livelier."