The days of housing communities in Florida being built around golf courses designed by PGA professionals could be numbered, judging by the level of excitement created by news that a Crystal Lagoon — first announced nearly two years ago — is finally ready to break ground in Wesley Chapel.
In the planning stages since an official announcement in November of 2014, the construction of the first-ever man-made lagoon in the U.S. is expected to be the knockout amenity offered by the $100-million residential development which will be called Epperson in Wesley Chapel.
Epperson, which is part of the Tampa-based Metro Development Group’s “Connected City” project that will have approximately 2,000 home sites, is located north of the Bridgewater community on Curley Rd. north of S.R. 54. Homes are already being built and Metro expects to have lots available by the fall.
There is no date yet for the completion of the lagoon, but expect it to happen sometime in 2017.
The original Epperson Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) has been dormant for years, after the original developer (Lennar Homes) sold the property to Metro in 2007, just before Pasco County’s housing market collapse.
The 8-acre (nearly 350,000 sq. ft.) lagoon was originally announced for Park Place, which has since been renamed Epperson to honor the legacy of the Epperson family, which previously owned the land.
The original plan to break ground in 2015 was held up by permitting issues, particularly approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, delaying the project.
Renderings of the lagoon show a spectacularly blue body of water large enough for kayaking, paddle boarding and small human-powered boats, with sand beaches and a recreation area. “An idyllic beach paradise,’’ says the Crystal Lagoons website.
“The Lagoon, roughly the length of five football fields, will have crystal-clear turquoise water and will be surrounded by a sandy beachfront,’’ said Kyle Parks of St. Petersburg-based B2 Communications, which does public relations for Metro, in an email.
A huge get for Wesley Chapel, Crystal Lagoons was founded in 2007 by Chilean biochemist-turned real estate developer Fernando Fischmann, who created a system based on pulses and ultra sonic filtration that can take virtually any kind of water and purify and maintain it at a low cost.
He developed the first lagoon at San Alfonso del Mar on the west coast of the South American cone. His patented system uses small sensors and injectors to treat the pool water when needed in specific areas. The system can sense when an area needs an injection of cleaner, like in the case of someone going to the bathroom in the water or spilling something into it.
Crystal Lagoons is the only company in the world with the technology, which is patented in 160 countries, and claims it currently has more than 300 projects in development in 60 countries.
According to Crystal Lagoons, its system is more efficient than a swimming pool, will use 100 times less chemicals and is 50 times more energy efficient, while consuming only 2% of the energy needed by conventional filtration systems. The lagoon uses 30 times less water than a typical 18-hole golf course.
But, where will the water come from? Any water, even salt water, can be used due to the effectiveness of the filtration system. However, for the 18 million gallons required to initially fill the lagoon, Parks said Metro is “leaning toward potable water to fill the lagoons.”
Potable water is fit for human consumption.
“Our plan is to fill the lagoon during non-peak usage times of the day,’’ Parks wrote. “In normal conditions, rainwater keeps the lagoon at its optimal level after that.”
Will I Be Able To Use It?
The lagoon will be a private amenity for the residents of the Epperson community. However, Parks says, some limited access could be provided to guests in the form of day passes or some other means.
Although pristine beaches are just a drive away, the lagoon offers clear salt- and chlorine-free water that won’t leave your eyes stinging. It will feature its own beach and will be just a short ride by golf cart or bike for Epperson residents.
“Much more convenient,’’ Parks says.
Metro expects the lagoon to be a major draw to Epperson, and its other sites. Epperson will be the first community in the U.S. to have a Crystal Lagoon, and there are also plans to build another lagoon in a new Wesley Chapel community called “Mirada” in the Cannon Ranch area just south of S.R. 52, as well as one in Southern Hillsborough County near Wimauma and another in North Ft. Myers.
For additional information about Crystal Lagoons, please visit Crystal-Lagoons.com.
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