| Goldwingnut |
06-09-2021 09:34 PM |
After giving this some more though, I'm intrigued by the possibilities, the technical aspects of such a place is an easy fit for our area as it grows. Let me explain.
As I said in the previous post, the pool is little more than a heat sink for a facility that produces a lot of heat. Many large facilities and campuses use a Central Energy Plant (CEP) to produce chill water (for air conditioning and humidity control), hot water (domestic use and heating), and backup electrical power. Most CEPs use an array of cooling towers to reject the produced heat, these are commonly seen on large building rooftops and set aside locations around a group of buildings. Some uninformed see the steam plume coming from the towers and assume it to be air pollution, it's simply water vapor.
Currently in Sumter County there are few large heat loads that would require the sizable CEP that would be needed for one of these lagoons. As I said, currently. Look ahead just a few years and the picture is different. The proposed medical complex that is in the planning stages is a prime candidate for a CEP since it is all greenfield work and the distribution infrastructure can be economically laid in at the initial stages of the development. Hospitals are HUGE energy users, and many use the CEP concept to help control energy costs. All this being said, it seems technically feasible for our area to have such a lagoon location.
Looking at the other side of the coin, economics, is a necessary evil. The addition of such a heat sink would be additional cost, conventional cooling towers sufficient to handle the CEP full load would still need to be built on-site to handle the facilities needs in case something happened to the lagoon heat sink (a sink hole opens up and drains the lagoon, it is Florida after all).
One has to look also at the marketability of a lagoon location in or around The Villages. This would be a tourist attraction, it would have to have its own local draw as it's too far from the Orlando attractions to attract customers and would have to compete with Wet-n-Wild, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizard Beach, and the other area water parks. Other "attractions" and businesses would need to exist to be successful. For the locals/resident the novelty will wear off quickly so you must continuously pull in new customers. Sure, it would be nice to take the grandkids to when down for a visit, but regular use by Villages residents, not very likely. It's been my experience over the last 7 years living here that most residents here are cheap and have forgotten how the real-world works (businesses have to make money), any cost increase and they cry poor with indignation and condemnation, blaming it all on the developer for being greedy.
Who would operate such a location? The developer, maybe but doubtful, amusement parks (for lack of a better label) are not their specialty. The local government/CDD, not likely. A 3rd party, this is the most likely, but they would be focused on their own profitability and not necessarily the image and reputation of The Villages/developer putting them at odds with the developer. Only one person gets to drive the bus and I doubt the developer will give up control of the future and planning of The Villages.
This would also require a large swath of land within or adjacent to current development. This would take away from home/golf course/amenity development.
So, technically feasible, absolutely, but likely improbable for coming here. I know, the guy in the interview said The Villages as a location, but more likely it is in the early stages of consideration, and it will probably wither and die on the vine.
(Before retiring I worked for Johnson Controls and was involved with the CEPs at St. Jude, FedEx World Hqtrs, Shands hospital, and Methodist Central Hospital in Memphis, as well as several others.)
I'm going to continue to dig into this one, it's an interesting concept, but I think unlikely to come to fruition.
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