- May 29, 2023
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After months of planning and preparation, residential developer Metro Development Group is within 30 days of breaking ground on the first crystal lagoon in the United States.
The lagoon, at Metro's Epperson community in Pasco County, will span eight acres — more than 26 times the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Its border will be one linear mile, Metro President Greg Singleton tells Coffee Talk.
Tampa-based Metro plans to build crystal lagoons in four of its communities: Epperson in Pasco County, Mirada in Pasco County, BrightWater in Fort Myers and Sereno in Hillsborough County. The goal is for the first lagoon to be finished and filled by spring 2017, Singleton says.
These lagoons, which originated in Chile, feature ultrasound pulses that keep the water clean and crystal blue. The lagoon at the Epperson community will be the size of six full football fields. All the lagoons will be large enough to host small sailboats, kayaks and water sports.
The lagoons are also costly amenities for residential communities. Each one costs about $250,000 per acre to install, Singleton says. But that's just the base quote price, and doesn't include licensing fees or decorations. “You can expect to pay just as much to add features like beaches, tiki huts and swim-up bars,” he says.
Despite that significant investment, Singleton says each lagoon — along with the $2,500-$3,000 per home installment of UltraFi Internet fibers — will make its respective community distinctive. And Metro is already “getting a huge response from potential buyers,” Singleton says. “There's a tremendous interest.”
