Fun-loving singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s death on Sept. 1 leaves a void for many who enjoyed his music and the lifestyle he promoted, perhaps most especially the residents and prospective residents of his signature Latitude Margaritaville active adult communities.
“Margaritaville is a state of mind, and Jimmy’s lyrics will continue to inspire everything we do. He created the soundtrack, and the people created the lifestyle that we honor and celebrate,” Blake Bellucci, associate vice president of global marketing agency FINN Partners, told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “His inspiration has set the Margaritaville brand up to be successful for generations to come.”
FINN Partners is the agency of record for the Margaritaville brand of restaurants, resorts and active adult residential properties.
Latitude Margaritaville broke ground on its first active adult community in Daytona Beach, FL, in 2017. That community was followed by Latitude Margaritaville Watersound near Panama City Beach in Florida and Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head in South Carolina. Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach was named Best 55+ Community by 55places.com in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the communities continue to accrue honors.
In 2022, Minto Communities announced that Latitude Margaritaville was expanding into the Texas market and looking at Austin, Dallas and Houston areas. And soon, adults aged 55 or more years will be able to savor a cheeseburger in paradise south of the border at Latitude Margaritaville International Lake Chapala in west-central Mexico, set to debut in phases starting in spring 2024.
Margaritaville.com called Buffett “a true national treasure” in a tribute posted on the company’s website, adding that “his original idea for Margaritaville was to expand the opportunity for as many people to experience the lifestyle immortalized in his iconic song as possible.”
“We … will continue to share his way of life wherever, whenever we can,” the company said.
Robert Kramer, founder of aging services think tank Nexus Insights, said that Latitude Margaritaville will continue to draw residents from what he called the “BoomX market,” members of the Baby Boom generation and Generation X — those born between 1946 and 1964 and between 1965 and 1980, respectively.
This demographic “will continue to have a segment that is attracted to the philosophy of escapism and the focus on fun that Jimmy Buffet popularized and Latitude Margaritaville embodies,” added the co-founder, former president and CEO, and current senior adviser to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
