The newest things in The Villages run on two clocks this fall. Recreation centers and resident services show up with a day and an hour attached, often weeks ahead. Restaurants show up with a target, and the target moves. If you're planning October around something new, check which clock it's on first.
Here is how everything new or nearly new stands as of Oct. 4, 2026.
The October status board
| Place | Where | What's been announced | How firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mustang Recreation Center | 7956 Busche Blvd., Eastport area | Ribbon cutting, 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 | Fixed date and time |
| Oak & Stone | 7016 Central Lake Drive, Eastport | Opening planned for Tuesday, Oct. 6 | Scheduled, not yet confirmed |
| LUXE Steakhouse and Cellar | 1488 Craig Ct., Woodlands Championship Golf Course | Targeting the first or second week of October | Target, already moved twice |
| Tacos & Tequila Cantina | Next to Oak & Stone, Eastport | Under construction | No date |
| Peach Valley Café | Eastport Drive at Dewey Drive | Signage up | No date |
| CAVA | 670 N. U.S. Highway 27/441, Lady Lake | Remodeling plans and permit application filed | No date |
| Pullman Recreation Center | Southern Eastport | Construction underway, building has gone vertical | No date |
| Long Prairie Recreation and Postal Center | Village of Long Prairie | Listed as "Coming Soon" | No date |
The pattern holds down the list. The one item with a time on it is a District recreation center. The two items with day-level dates are restaurants, and both deserve some caution. Nothing else has a date yet.
Mustang is the one with a time on the invitation
Villages-News reported that the ribbon cutting for Mustang Recreation Center is at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7956 Busche Blvd. The Villages put out its own grand-opening invitation on Oct. 2 with the same date and hour.
The amenity list is long for a village center. It has a family pool, gathering rooms, a kitchen, a pavilion and a pedestrian path. For games there are outdoor exercise equipment, corn toss, billiards, darts and table shuffleboard, plus courts for pickleball, tennis, shuffleboard and bocce.
The family pool matters most if you host grandchildren. The Villages' own write-up of the nearby Village of Long Prairie calls Mustang's pool the family-friendly option for that area, and it calls Long Prairie's pool a neighborhood adult pool.
The building sits along Marsh Bend Trail. The theme comes from Central Florida's wild horses, and the developer describes it as a tribute to herds outside Gainesville. Designers Alison & Devon gave it a barn-style look with steel beams and floor-to-ceiling wood walls.
The theme was announced in March, construction ran through the summer, and the exact hour was set only in the final week. That's the District clock. The date shows up late, and then it holds.
The restaurant dates have been moving all year
LUXE Steakhouse and Cellar shows the other clock most clearly. In August, Villages-News reported that the restaurant at 1488 Craig Ct. was aiming to open by the end of September. It will take reservations only and cap reservations each day. By mid-September, a report by Only Villages quoted Joseph Suleiman, whose family runs several restaurants in The Villages. He said the restaurant had first been expected in August and was now targeting the first or second week of October.
So the target has moved from August to late September to early October. As of today, no published report confirms that LUXE is open. With a daily reservation cap, your opening week depends on when the booking line goes live, more than on the date in the headline.
Oak & Stone is closer, and its record is a little messy. A Sept. 24 Villages-News story put the opening at 7016 Central Lake Drive on Tuesday, Oct. 6. It described a self-pour wall with 36 draft beers, 16 wines and 14 bourbons. An Eastport roundup the same outlet published on Oct. 3 said Oak & Stone "just recently celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 6." That date hadn't arrived yet when the roundup ran. The safe reading is that Oct. 6 is still the plan, and the doors aren't open yet.
The next wave on Eastport Drive doesn't have dates at all. Tacos & Tequila Cantina is under construction right next to Oak & Stone. Peach Valley Café has signs up at the corner of Dewey Drive and Eastport Drive. Up on the Lady Lake end of the corridor, CAVA is moving into the former Moe's Southwest Grill space at 670 N. U.S. Highway 27/441. The town has received remodeling plans and a permit application. No opening date has been given.
None of this is unusual for restaurants. Build-outs, inspections, hiring and equipment deliveries all have to line up. A restaurant date is a reasonable estimate, and it can move.
Pullman and Long Prairie are on the same clock as Mustang
The two other recreation centers going up near Eastport might look like they break the pattern. They actually fit it. Neither has a missed date, because neither has a date.
The Villages' own update on Pullman Recreation Center, from July 23, says construction was underway and the site had gone vertical. The design draws on late-19th-century passenger dining cars. The developer's project page still lists the center as "On the Horizon," with no opening date and no amenity list yet.
Long Prairie Recreation and Postal Center is in the same spot. The facility page lists a pool, bocce and shuffleboard, and the attached postal facility is part of the plan. As of the Sept. 23 Long Prairie feature, the recreation area was still labeled "Coming Soon."
Mustang went through the same stretch. It was announced in March as "currently under construction" with no date, and it got a date and hour only once opening was close. If Pullman and Long Prairie follow that path, you'll get a ribbon-cutting notice a week or two ahead, not months ahead.
All three centers sit within what Villages-News calls a short golf cart ride from Eastport. Next door, construction on the Village of Green Hill Grove is moving quickly. That neighborhood will have walking access to the town center. The pieces already finished at Eastport include the pedestrian bridge to Sunset Island, the waterfront entertainment stage, and the Shooks Alley storefronts with Mia Sorella, Go Fish and The Villages Logo Store.
The District dates that already took effect
The District clock works for changes as well as openings, and one of them took effect this week. On Aug. 10, Villages-News reported that starting Oct. 1, the District would stop collecting amenity payments from the drop boxes at postal stations. That was about seven weeks of notice, and the date didn't move.
If you paid by dropping a check in one of those boxes, here's what still works:
- By mail: put the check in a stamped envelope and drop it in the regular U.S. Mail slot at any postal station.
- Online or AutoPay: the District lists Bank Direct, Pay by Text, PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Credit.
- In person: cash, money orders, cashier's checks and personal checks are accepted at any District Customer Service Office during business hours.
- Questions: District Utilities, 352-750-0000.
Closer to the historic side of The Villages, the Colony Cottage Recreation Center Sports Pool is set to close Oct. 6 for pressure washing and tile repair. The notice says weather or other circumstances could change the schedule.
The October dates you can plan around
Everything below comes from District or developer schedules, which have been the reliable clock this fall:
- Oct. 6, 5 to 7 p.m. National Night Out at Rohan Regional Recreation Center.
- Oct. 8, 9 a.m. Mustang Recreation Center ribbon cutting, 7956 Busche Blvd.
- Oct. 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fall Festival of Art Show at Rohan Regional Recreation Center.
- Oct. 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Heritage Celebration at La Hacienda Regional Recreation Center.
- Oct. 31. Halloween celebrations at Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing, Eastport and Brownwood, with themed costumes, contests, live entertainment and special performances.
Nightly live entertainment runs on October hours. Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing, Brownwood and Sawgrass Grove run 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Eastport runs 6 to 10 p.m. every night. On a Tuesday, that gives Eastport an hour later in the evening than the other squares.
Oak & Stone could open Oct. 6 as planned, and LUXE could take its first reservations any day now. Until a follow-up report or the restaurant itself confirms it, treat both as targets.
New buildings around Eastport change more than the calendar. If you're weighing whether a home closer to Mustang, Pullman or Long Prairie fits how you want to spend your days, Anna Beverly tracks these openings as part of her work across The Villages and can walk you through what's finished, what's still coming, and what that means for your next move. Buy or Sell Your Central Florida Home: Contact Anna Today.
