Some say, “it’s like living in Disneyworld.”  Others say fondly, “No … it’s more like Mayberry.”  While others say, “it’s where every day is Saturday.”  Regardless of how you describe it we all know Kingsmill is a great place to live … and now we want to make it even better.

 

In 2023, Kingsmill will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.  While this is a meaningful milestone it’s not without its challenges.  After 50 years our age is starting to show, and we need to address it head on and return Kingsmill to being a premier community of choice – better yet THE community of choice – within the region.

 

Shortly after construction began in 1973, Kingsmill was considered a ground-breaking community and studied in architectural schools across the country.  Investments made since that time, however, have primarily been to maintain the original design with little done in the way of new, game-changing ideas.  At the same time, other newer developments have been built that bring a fresher design and amenities that better reflect the interests of today’s homeowners.  It’s time for Kingsmill to reassess our amenities, better define our community aspirations, and clarify how we communicate the Kingsmill lifestyle to the outside world.

 

To that end, the Strategic Planning Committee has been working hard over the last two years to create a vision for Kingsmill’s future.   We're looking out over the next 10 years and asking, among other things:

·       How can we revitalize our community to capture what makes living in Kingsmill so special?

·       What’s the "highest and best use" of property we currently own and might acquire to maximize our green space?

·       How do we rejuvenate our aging neighborhoods and infrastructure so that they have less of a 1970s look and feel?

·       What’s the future of Wareham's Pond Recreation Center?  How can it be updated and made even more valuable?

·       How do we implement a master landscaping plan that provides a framework to evaluate our landscaping investments?

·       How do we make KCSA, as our community service organization, more responsive using 21st century tools and methods?

 

 

I suspect you’re now thinking “these are all good initiatives but how are we going to pay for this?”  Here’s how …

·       Three years ago we began putting dollars aside for this project, so we already have a jump start. 

·       This is a long-term project, so we won’t be needing all the dollars in Year 1.

·       In 2024, our current long-term debt will be paid off freeing up valuable cash flow.

·       We will “repoint” the dollars we are already spending in a way that is consistent with and helps us reach our goals.

 

The bottom line is that we plan to live within our means.  And don’t forget, the addition of these improvements should have a very positive effect on our property values.

 

Substantial pre-planning work has been done, a contract has been signed with a premier architectural and engineering firm and now it’s time to hear from the broader Kingsmill community.  Working groups have generated a lot of good ideas.  Now we need to vet these ideas with the community, get new ideas from the residents and pull all this together into a feasible comprehensive plan.

 

We have hired Timmons Group, a major multidisciplinary firm with experience in the revitalization of master planned communities like Kingsmill.  They will work with us to develop a Kingsmill Master Plan for the 2020 – 2030 timeframe.

 

The master plan we develop will serve as:

·       a blueprint for the community’s long-range future;

·       a compass that guides our decision-making and financial planning;

·       a record of the community’s expression of who we are and who we want to be … a vision of our future self;

·       a playbook for capital investments and community initiatives; and

·       a messaging tool articulating our community’s vision and how we want to project that image to the outside world.

 

 

In addition to our outside experts, we are putting together a Community Advisory Group made up of 25-30 residents representing a cross-section of the community.  This includes families with young children, young families with no children, recent retirees, long-term retirees, single homeowners and others – in other words all demographics represented within Kingsmill.  We’re looking for big thinkers but with both feet on the ground.  Does that sound like you?  If so, please join us.

 

 

 

Even if you don’t participate in the Advisory Group, the Strategic Planning team still wants your input.  We’ll be reaching out to all of Kingsmill through surveys, focus groups, our website and Facebook/Instagram page, the KCSA Bulletin, email and town hall meetings.  We want to hear from you and we’re going to go out of our way to make that happen.

 

These are exciting times for Kingsmill.  If everyone applies their best thinking we can come up with good ideas and ways to implement them.