The mushrooming growth of The Villages continues to creep closer to an oasis among the rooftops, Lake Griffin State Park.
The retirement mecca northwest of Orlando is in the midst of a major expansion into this small Lake County city, and state park manager Doug Watson has been witness to the boom.
But the growth doesn’t bother him. Villages residents have become some of Watson’s most loyal volunteers and are important to the park that welcomes about 35,000 visitors annually.
“We’ve kind of become the Central Park of this whole area,” said Watson, 60. “There’s not much green space left, but our 620 acres is what’s left, and here for people to come out and enjoy.”
Watson won’t be around to see most of the 2,055 homes sprout in the latest Villages push. After nearly 40 years in the state-park system, he retired last month.
When he arrived at Lake Griffin two decades ago The Villages had about 16,000 residents. In 2014, the Census Bureau named it the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S., with a population of more than 100,000 people spread over Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.
“We’ve benefited from The Villages community,” Watson said.
With the growth, more people visit to see the park’s signature attraction, a massive centuries-old live oak tree that is the state’s second-oldest. The widening of County Road 466A, part of The Villages expansion, made for easier access to the park a third of a mile to the south off U.S. Highway 27-441.
Most of the growth in recent years has taken place in Sumter. The Fruitland Park project, which is due to be complete in about 18 months, will provide a formidable boost to the city’s tax roll, sixth lowest of Lake’s 14 cities.
“Essentially what’s going to happen is it’s going to double the population,” City Manager Gary La Venia said. “It’s going to bring a lot of diversity to the community and a tremendous amount of commercial growth.”
The potential for more visitors could mean the park will need more help to maintain its glimpse at old Florida.
With just four full-time employees and limited state funding, Watson relies on donations and volunteers to help with upkeep and improvements.
A Villages resident, for example, donated a pontoon boat that is used to offer 45-minute tours of Lake Griffin and the nearby Dead River marsh. For more than two years another resident, 70-year-old Ted Wendel, has led daytime and nighttime canoe and kayaking tours.
“There are a lot of visitors or residents in the area that really don’t know what Florida is all about,” said Wendel, a former auditor from New York. “They’re just amazed at how wild Florida is with the fish, birds and alligators.”
Watson has also turned to residents from surrounding communities, such as Rick Huff, of Leesburg, to handle other projects.
Huff volunteers at the park three times a week. He takes care of maintenance to the benches, trails and other facilities. As a retired longtime employee for the Milwaukee, Wis., forestry department, such tasks are right up his alley.
“I really enjoy it,” Huff said. The park “seems miles and miles away from the city … it’s a whole different world.”
Watson saves the bulk of the bigger volunteer projects for the winter months, when many snowbirds at The Villages are around and looking for a break from golf and the and bustle of the life of an active retiree.
The pool of potential volunteers will be growing — Fruitland Park so far has issued about 400 certificates of occupancy for The Villages expansion.
With his retirement, Watson is saying goodbye to Fruitland Park and heading to Mexico Beach, a small community on the Gulf Coast between Apalachicola and Panama City, to be near his 89-year-old mother.
If he returns in a few years for a visit, Fruitland Park will be busier — and so will Lake Griffin State Park.
“When that all gets built out,” he said, “there’ll be more people who will come out and want to have a quality outdoor recreational experience.”
rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5927