It appears Metro Development Group is going to make the residents of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area very happy – it’s broken ground on Florida’s first-ever lagoon.  While residents have waited patiently but eagerly for the state-of-the-art Crystal Lagoon to be built in Epperson Ranch, MDG is raising the amenities bar for the new housing developments.

Although MDG made the announcement in 2014, the company is just now breaking ground at for a Crystal Lagoon at the former Epperson Ranch location – to become the first-ever Crystal Lagoon in Florida.  A second lagoon is slated for construction next year is South Hillsborough County.

Construction, which takes places north of the S.R. 54 and Bridgewater community, for the 7.5-acre lagoon is set to be complete by December 2017.

Why Crystal Lagoons in Epperson Ranch Is An Extremely Effective Option

Fernando Fischmann is a Chilean biochemist who became a real estate developer. He founded Crystal Lagoons in 2007, which uses a system based on ultrasonic and pulses filtration that will take any type of water and purify it. His company is the only one with this kind of technology – it’s been patented in 160 countries is used in over 300 development projects in 60 countries.

Crystal Lagoons said its system is far more effective than a swimming pool:

•    It uses 100 times fewer chemicals
•    It’s 50 times more energy-efficient – it consumes just two percent of the energy produced by conventional filtration systems
•    It uses 30 times less water than an 18-hole golf course with its sandy, white beaches and blue waters

Greg Singleton, MDG president, said the Epperson Ranch Crystal Lagoon is going to be about one mile around, with an average depth of eight feet – some spots could be to 10 to 12 feet deep. He said the water will be clear and won’t refract a lot of light. The deep spots, Singleton said, will appear deep blue.

He also said the lagoon would hold around 15 million gallons of water.

Why There Were Delays In Development

Residents have been apprehensive that MDG’s idea to use the local aquifer will cause sinkholes to develop. The developer can look at other water sources but will buy the lagoon’s water from the Pasco County Utilities.

Another reason for construction delay is the project’s uniqueness – this led to permit problems with Pasco County and finding people who could develop it.

Singleton said its Crystal Lagoon’s first U.S. project, which makes it an extremely distinctive construction project. He said the company wanted to find the best contractors and partners, which is why the project took so long to break ground. He also said the company wanted to be meticulous in its approach.

Connected City Project

Epperson Ranch is one part of the company’s Connected City project that’s the Pasco Board of County Commissioners are looking at. The Crystal Lagoon at Epperson Ranch is already selling state-of-the-art homes, with the frames of the model homes going up by the end of January.

Singleton said Crystal Lagoon project at Wesley Chapel is the other part of Connected City, going in the Mirada community. It’s located along Curley Rd. and south of S.R. 52.

He said Connected City was in development for two years, offering people a place to work, live and play.

The Mirada community development is slated to start in spring 2017. MDG plans to start on the second Crystal Lagoon location before 2017 is out.  Metro is looking to establish four Florida Crystal Lagoons.

View all the homes for sale in Wesley Chapel by going to our Wesley Chapel real estate page.