Crystal Lagoons Breaks Ground In South Hillsborough, Florida
15 May, 2019 / News
Neighborhood amenities often mean clubhouse, swimming pool, and fitness center.
But Tampa’s Metro Development Group, together with the multinational Crystal Lagoons®, have upped the ante significantly. To give its homebuyers a taste of the Caribbean without leaving Florida, the residential developer has partnered with multinational water innovation company to build massive crystalline lagoons with sandy white beaches, swim-up bars, water slides and obstacles, kayak and paddleboard rentals, and entertainment pavilions.
“The historical model is to build the neighborhood, put in some parks and dog parks, and build a clubhouse and a pool, maybe a nice pool with some slides,” says Eric Wahlbeck, Managing Director of Metro Lagoons. “Or you build a golf course and put the homes around the golf course. That is the traditional model. This is a totally different game-changing amenity.”
Their partnership began with a seven-and-a-half-acre lagoon, the Crystal Lagoons amenity which opened late last year in the Epperson community in Wesley Chapel about 35 miles north of Tampa.
Founded by businessman and biochemist, Fernando Fischmann, Crystal Lagoons recently broke ground on their second joint venture, a five-acre lagoon at Metro Development’s Southshore Bay community in Wimauma about 30 miles south of Tampa. It is expected to open it in the summer of 2020. In total, Metro Development and Crystal Lagoons plan 11 lagoons of five to 15 acres each at Metro Development communities.
Wahlbeck says Metro Development CEO John Ryan first got the notion to disrupt the traditional concept of amenities when he read a news article about multinational company Crystal Lagoons and its lagoon projects at resorts around the world.
“You are always looking for what will set you apart and get somebody to buy in your neighborhood instead of the one across the street,” Wahlbeck says. “He was on a plane and saw a publication about Crystal Lagoons in the Wall Street Journal. He was curious about what that the heck that meant, started doing a little research and found out they were building these attached to hotels in South America, Dubai, and Mexico. Hotels obviously are known for their amenities. People go there for the scenery or the pool. He started having conversations with Crystal Lagoons and decided to take a risk and add the bodies of water to the projects. The lagoons are a different concept, something to set us apart from other developers.”
Although only recently inaugurated as a Public Access Lagoon, also known as PAL for short, the lagoon has already emerged as a popular spot for birthday parties and weddings amongst residents but can also be accessed by the public via a ticketed entry. The lagoon is open to residents while visitors pay $20 for a day pass.
To visit the lagoon, or buy tickets, go to LagoonInformation.com
Crystal Lagoons is an international innovation company, founded by scientist Fernando Fischmann, which has developed a patent-protected technology that allows the construction and maintenance of unlimited-size clear water lagoons at very low costs.
Tags: Crystal Lagoons®, crystalline lagoons, Fernando Fischmann, Florida, Miami, Public Access Lagoons™, Tampa
