Projects
The Caves Villages
Project facts
- Status
- Pre-Development
- Address
- 11848 County Road 105
- City
- Oxford, Florida
- Region
- Orlando MSA
- Submarket
- The Villages; Lady Lake
- Units
- 65
- Amenity tier
- Standard
- Key amenities
- Gated Access & Security, Wash Bays & RV Stations, Private Bathrooms, Mezzanine Capabilities
- Construction
- Tilt Wall
- Finish level
- High-Quality
- Projected delivery
- 2028
- Flood zone
- X
Location Summary
Oxford / The Villages; Lady Lake Overview
The project is planned for Oxford, the unincorporated Sumter County crossroads at US 301 and County Road 466 that marks the northwestern gateway to The Villages, positioned between the active-adult community to the east and the Ocala horse country to the north. The address sits on the working US 301 corridor rather than inside the age-restricted core, which gives owners from the community's northern and western villages a short, direct drive while keeping the site accessible to trailered boats and coaches. The Orlando MSA reached about 2.96 million residents in 2025, growing 1.3 percent year over year and ahead of Florida and the nation, while Florida's absence of a state income tax continues to draw high-earner income from California, New York, and Illinois.
The immediate trade area is a pronounced retiree market: a median age of 67.5 and roughly four in five residents aged 55 or older within 5 miles, with wealth that rests on accumulated home equity and savings rather than current wages. The corridor-level demand thesis, a time-rich, asset-rich ownership base that treats a private suite as hobby, collection, and social space for classic cars, boats, and RVs, applies here directly, and continued southward expansion of The Villages keeps renewing the buyer pool. Access runs by US 301 north to Ocala and south to Wildwood, where Florida's Turnpike meets I-75 roughly 15 minutes from the site; Orlando International Airport is about an hour and 15 minutes southeast.
Current Events & Infrastructure
- US 301 repaving through Oxford and The Villages: FDOT is designing an 8.4-mile repaving of US 301 from south of SR 44 to the Marion County line, carrying a $10.4 million construction budget plus $874,000 in design, with letting scheduled for September 8, 2027. The segment runs past the site's US 301 frontage roughly a mile away, renewing pavement, signage, and sidewalk accessibility on the project's primary access road.
- US 301 widening and Coleman realignment: FDOT's roughly $158 million, 8-mile program widens US 301 from two to four lanes between County Road 470 and Florida's Turnpike, including a two-mile bypass around Coleman; the $39.9 million first phase began in fall 2025 with completion expected in late 2027. The $66 million northern segment from County Road 468 to the Turnpike, about 6 to 10 miles south of the site, held a public open house on August 5, 2026 and is scheduled to let June 1, 2027. For the site, the program adds four-lane capacity on the corridor that links Oxford to the Turnpike and the southern villages.
Key Demand Drivers
The ownership base around Oxford is overwhelmingly retiree households in single-family homes with standard two-car garages, many governed by deed restrictions that keep boats, coaches, and project cars out of the driveway. A private, gated suite with wash bays, RV stations, and mezzanine space is the logical overflow for a household whose toys have outgrown the home garage, and that overflow is the project's core demand.
- Oxford family subdivision: A new family subdivision in Oxford, reported in September 2026, would add more than 500 homes in the site's immediate Oxford trade area, broadening the local buyer pool beyond the age-restricted market.
- The Villages Polo Club: A short drive east within The Villages, the club ran its 30th anniversary season from January 30 to May 3, 2026, fourteen weeks of Friday and Sunday matches with tailgating, a signature affluent-leisure anchor for the site's buyer base.
- World Equestrian Center, Ocala: About 35 to 40 minutes north via US 301 and I-75, the complex bills itself as the largest equestrian complex in the United States, hosts FEI-rated events including the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup, and is adding an outdoor shopping center opening in 2026. Its horse-trailer and motorcoach culture reinforces demand for secure, oversized garage space in the northern trade area.
Location Highlights
- MSA Position: The site anchors the northwest edge of a 2.96 million-resident metro growing faster than Florida and the nation.
- Enthusiast / Collector Culture: Daytona International Speedway, home of the DAYTONA 500 and the Rolex 24, is within day-trip reach to the northeast, and the Ocala equestrian circuit sits to the north.
- Infrastructure & Recreation: Roughly $168 million of committed and scheduled US 301 work between Oxford and the Turnpike upgrades the site's primary access corridor through 2027 and beyond.
- Market-Specific Factor: Retiree households dominate the 5-mile trade area, and hobby and leisure spending is a defining feature of daily life across The Villages, so demand is anchored in lifestyle rather than commuting patterns.
- Tax & Quality of Life: Florida's lack of a state income tax remains the leading driver of high-earner in-migration to the state.
- High Net Worth Concentration: Households earning $200,000 or more number 1,598 within 3 miles, 2,992 within 5 miles, and 4,221 within 7 miles, with median home values holding between $364,000 and $374,000 across all three radii.
Area Demographics (ACS 2024)
5-Mile Profile: Population 79,664 | Median HH Income $73,222 | HH Earning $150K+ 13.7% | Median Age 67.5 | Age 55+ 80.3% | Seasonal Units 10.7% | Households with 3+ Vehicles 5.9% | YoY Population Growth Not available
Wealth Index: 2.7 / 10 (SCK portfolio-relative)