Bloomberg: Margaritaville community in Hardeeville could represent ‘future of retirement’

Jimmy Buffett-branded communities — including the the Latitude Margaritaville project planned for Hardeeville — could be the “future of retirement” for aging baby boomers, according to a Bloomberg article published Friday.

“As boomers reimagine how we grow old, Jimmy Buffett is betting on them to buy his branded homes,” the story, written by Patrick Clark, says.

About 3,000 of those homes are set to be built on a roughly 2,700-acre site on U.S. 278. in Hardeeville.

Clark writes that the communities are “novel bid to sell homes to boomers who are ready to kick back—just not in the same way their parents did.”

“For some, the snowbird lifestyle their parents’ generation invented might look like one last tradition against which to rebel,” according to Clark. “Others might just not want to admit they’re getting old.”

Clarks adds, “But selling homes by signaling to a niche group cuts two ways, attracting some while warning others to stay away. You don’t retire to a dude ranch if you don’t like the smell of manure. You probably don’t buy a home in Latitude Margaritaville if you don’t think you’ll fit in with Buffett fans.”

The Hardeeville project — called Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head — is a partnership between the Margaritaville brand, residential developer Minto Communities, and retail developer Sutton Properties Inc.

The age-restricted community is expected to include a 290,000-square-foot commercial area that will be open to the public.

A Margaritaville-themed restaurant, retail shops, and a hotel will flank a centrally located grocery store.

Minto Communities senior vice president William Bullock told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette earlier this year that the community’s first residents are expected to move in by the end of 2018.

Meanwhile, another Margaritaville-themed retirement community has broken ground in Daytona Beach, Fla.

That project is expected to include about 7,000 homes.

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Bloomberg: Margaritaville community in Hardeeville could represent ‘future of retirement’."