Principia Garden Villas Condominium Association, Inc. was begun in 1974. The 15 buildings on the south side of the property were built at that time. After they were sold, the six additional buildings were completed at the end of 1979 and went on sale at the start of 1980.
There are a total of twenty-one (21) buildings, each with four units, making a grand total of 84 units in all. In each of the buildings, there are three (3) three-bedroom units and one (1) two-bedroom unit. Each unit has its own patio area with privacy walls arount it. Units are all on one floor, and are single story buildings. No one overhead or beneath--and your own private entry , make each feel more like single family living.
Principia, however, is not the same as single family living. It is a legal entity, a Corporation Not-for-Profit, governed by the Principia Condo Documents and the Laws of the State of Florida. Living in a community does bring with it some responsibilities and loss of freedoms, but also shared expenses for some major items. Principia is a self-managed community.
The Principia Condo Association covers lawn maintenance, trash fees, painting of the buildings, plus repair and replacement of the roof on each building, in addition to the largest expense of insurance: both hazard and flood. Because Principia is spread out over a large piece of land and there are many buildings, the cost for lawn service and trash pickup [we have 4 dumpsters plus recycle bins], as well as painting and maintenance, run higher than other condos that might have a different style of building and site facilities.
It is worthy to note there is both an "up" and a "down" side to each positive and each negative side of living in a community. But, Principia is in a great location off Cypress Lake Drive in Fort Myers, Lee County, FL. It is next to Rutenberg Park, within a couple of miles of many restaurants, shopping centers, medical facilities, churches, beaches, and the main airport, Southwest International .
