A Florida developer is planning to anchor a 200-acre mixed-use development with the nation’s largest artificial surf park.
The $595 million “Willow Lakes” development would include 800 homes, 600 hotel rooms, 125,000 square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail space and the massive surf park, according to TCPalm.
The project would rise in Fort Pierce, about 70 miles north of West Palm Beach.
“Surfworks Resorts” — designed by the company WaveGarden — would be part of the development’s $40 million first phase, and could include another 150-room hotel. The facility would be capable of creating 1,000 waves an hour and accommodating up to 100 surfers at a time.
There are only a handful of such facilities around the world, but dozens are under construction, according to TCPalm. The first facility in the U.S. and the second worldwide opened in Austin, Texas, in 2016.
The developers of Willow Lakes have owned the large property since 2004. Fort Pierce officials rezoned the property to allow for the development. If other permits and approvals are secured, the developers plan to break ground in the third quarter of next year. [TCPalm] — Dennis Lynch