Village of Richmond in The Villages, FL: A Newcomer's Guide

The Village of Richmond is the newest chapter of The Villages, a brand-new 55+ village in the Eastport section south of State Road 44, just a short golf cart ride from Brownwood Paddock Square. This is where the developer is building some of the freshest patio villas and designer homes in the community right now, and it is drawing buyers who want a new home, a lower-maintenance villa, and the southern villages lifestyle without waiting for resale inventory. As a Broker Associate with Soundings LLC and more than 20 years selling homes across Marion, Sumter, and Lake counties, I have watched Richmond go from open land to one of the most talked-about new addresses in The Villages, and here is my honest, local's guide to it.

Where Exactly Is the Village of Richmond?

Richmond sits in the Eastport section of The Villages, south of State Road 44 in the 32163 Wildwood ZIP code of Sumter County. If you have driven to the southern end of the community lately, you have probably seen the construction cranes and fresh streets off the turnpike frontage, because this is the direction The Villages keeps growing. The village sits just north of the Florida Turnpike, with Brownwood Paddock Square, the western-themed town square of the southern villages, a short golf cart ride away.

Location is the first thing buyers ask about, so let me be specific about what Richmond's location means in daily life. The golf cart path network connects the village to the square, so dinner and live music at Brownwood are an evening routine rather than a plan. The big shopping hubs of the southern district, including the Buffalo Ridge Shopping Plaza with its Walmart and Costco, are an easy cart or car ride north. And when you want Orlando, the turnpike entrance nearby makes the drive far simpler than from the older northern villages. For anyone who wants the southern villages lifestyle with the newest construction, that combination is hard to beat.

A Brand-New Village With Instant Demand

Richmond is not a village that has been around for decades; it is genuinely new. The developer introduced the village in July 2022, and the first homes went on sale in September 2022. From the very first release, the pattern was the same as with other hot new villages: new phases went under contract quickly, and by late 2024 Richmond had established itself as one of the fastest-selling new villages in the community, with each new release drawing immediate buyer interest.

That instant demand tells you two things. First, there is a real audience of buyers who want new construction in the southern villages, and they are competing for the same releases. Second, because everything is 2022-2023 built, the homes are truly turnkey: modern kitchens, open single-story floor plans, energy-efficient construction, and none of the deferred maintenance older homes can bring. If you have been looking at resale homes and wishing one of them were just a little newer, Richmond is exactly that answer.

The Homes: Patio Villas, Courtyard Villas, Verandas, and Designer Homes

Richmond is a mix of villa-style and single-family homes, which is one of the reasons it attracts such a wide range of buyers. The patio villas and courtyard villas deliver the low-maintenance lifestyle so many Villages buyers want: compact exteriors, attached garages, and the freedom to lock up and go. The Veranda homes and Designer homes step up in size and finish, with the open great-room layouts and spacious outdoor living areas that make new Florida construction feel so generous. Richmond also includes Premier designer models, the top-of-the-line finishes in the village, and garage options that include golf cart garages so your cart has a covered home of its own.

On price, recent listings in Richmond have ranged from roughly $327,500 to $880,000, with many villas and smaller homes in the $300s and $400s. For a brand-new village so close to a town square, that entry point is notable: you can get into new construction near Brownwood for less than comparable new homes in some of the more established southern villages. As always in new construction, the exact price depends on the floor plan, the finishes you select, and the lot, so the number that matters is the one on the home you fall in love with, and I am happy to walk you through current pricing when we talk.

Richmond and Clarendon Recreation: Brand-New Amenities

One of the best parts of moving into a new village is that the amenities are new too. Richmond Recreation at 2956 Tharp Avenue, phone 352-674-1800, and Clarendon Recreation opened together in 2024, and they bring the full Villages recreation package to the neighborhood: resort-style pools, fitness facilities, and the classes and activities that fill a Villages calendar. Lake Okahumpka and Water Lily recreation centers are also close by, which means residents are never far from a pool or a fitness class, and the southern villages are known for tennis and pickleball courts that stay busy from morning to dusk.

All of this runs on the community's amenities fee rather than a traditional HOA, which is the model across The Villages and worth understanding before you buy. For new homeowners in 2026, the monthly fee is about $204, and it covers the recreation centers, pools, fitness facilities, sports courts, and the complimentary executive golf courses, along with the nightly entertainment at the town squares. There is no HOA board reviewing your paint color or your lawn; the fee replaces HOA dues entirely and keeps the lifestyle running.

Golf: The Richmond Pitch & Putt and the Eastport Corridor

Golfers should take Richmond seriously, because the village has its own course and sits at the edge of one of the community's newest golf corridors. Inside the village, the Richmond Pitch & Putt at 4468 Burgess Drive is an 18-hole, par 54 short course with holes from 42 to 110 yards. It is designed to be walked without a cart, which makes it perfect for a quick afternoon tune-up or for practicing the short game that saves strokes on the big courses. For newer golfers, a pitch and putt is also the gentlest possible introduction to the game, all within a cart ride of home.

Step a little farther out into the Eastport golf corridor and the options multiply. The Woodlands Championship Course brings 18 holes of par 72 championship golf, and Southern Oaks Championship Course opened in 2024 to give the area a second big layout. Around them sit the Laurel Oak Executive Course, a nine-hole executive layout, the Bellaire Executive Course, and the Live Oak Pitch & Putt, plus the Central Lake Golf Shop, a driving range, and the Golf Academy for lessons and practice. Walking the executive courses is free with the amenities fee, while championship play runs through the country club membership structure used across The Villages.

Brownwood Paddock Square, a Golf Cart Ride Away

The social heart of the southern villages is Brownwood Paddock Square, the third town square, which opened in 2012 and leans into a country and western theme that matches the surrounding horse country. The square runs free live music most evenings on the Log Cabin Stage, with dancing on the brick, a lineup of restaurants from casual to celebratory, and the same mix of shopping and people-watching that makes The Villages squares famous. Richmond residents do not plan a trip to get there; they hop on the golf cart after dinner.

For a full tour of the square's restaurants, entertainment, and what it is like to live around it, my Brownwood and Paddock Square guide covers everything in detail. The short version is that Richmond gives you a quiet, brand-new street to come home to and a town square with nightly music a short cart ride away, which is the balance most southern villages buyers tell me they are looking for.

What Daily Life in Richmond Feels Like

Daily life in Richmond runs on the same rhythm as the rest of The Villages: coffee, golf or pickleball or the pool, clubs and classes, and evenings at the square. The community has more than 3,500 resident-run clubs, and the newest villages tend to fill their rosters fast as neighbors who all moved in around the same time bond over shared hobbies. Because the homes are new, the streets are still filling in, and that means young landscaping and a few empty lots here and there, the honest trade-off for getting a brand-new house in a brand-new village.

Richmond is also a 55+ village under the community's deed restrictions: at least one resident per home must be 55 or older, and no one under 19 may live there full time. That rule applies across The Villages, and it is part of why the lifestyle works the way it does, with recreation, clubs, and nightly entertainment built around the active adult rhythm.

Who Richmond Is Right For

Let me be straight with you about who this village fits best. Richmond is right for the buyer who wants new construction with no renovation surprises, the buyer who wants a lower-maintenance villa with a golf cart garage, the golfer who wants a pitch and putt at home and championship courses minutes away, and anyone who wants to be close to Brownwood's nightly music without living on top of the crowd. It is also a strong fit for out-of-state buyers who want a turnkey home they can walk into furnished and start living the lifestyle on day one.

It is less right for the buyer who wants an established, tree-canopied village with mature landscaping and settled streets, because Richmond is still growing in, and for the buyer who needs a specific resale floor plan that is no longer in production. My advice is the same as it always is: come see it for yourself. Ride the golf cart from Richmond to Brownwood at sunset, walk the pitch and putt, sit by the pool at the recreation center, and then we do the numbers together, the amenities fee, the new-construction timeline, and what the same budget buys in the villages nearby. The spreadsheet and the gut feeling both get a vote, and I will help you listen to both.

FAQ About Living in the Village of Richmond

Whether you are drawn to the brand-new patio villas, the golf cart ride to Brownwood's nightly music, or the chance to buy into the newest corner of The Villages, Richmond is a village worth seeing in person. New construction releases do not wait, and when the right villa or designer home appears, you will want to know exactly what you are looking at and what it is worth. That has been my job in The Villages for more than 20 years and 450+ closings, and I would love to put it to work for you.