New Pools, Rec Center Coming To Sun 'N Lake

It may take two years but Sun 'n Lake is on pace to get three new swimming pools and a recreational center.

The Sun 'n Lake Board of Supervisors voted recently to allocate $1.6 million for the first phase of the project. Plans include a main pool, a children's pool and a spray area, plus a separate building with showers and bathrooms.

The community pool at the Candlelight restaurant is closed right now and will be torn down, along with the restaurant, starting in two weeks.

But the new pools and the recreation center will be situated about half a mile away, near the intersection of Edgewater Drive and Granada Boulevard.

A paid "community outreach coordinator" might monitor the community center and schedule activities for the planned solar heated pools and other recreation areas, said Al Grieshaber Jr., general manager of Sun 'n Lake.

Grieshaber said Tuesday the proposed pools and building are only the beginning of an "expandable concept."

"Sun 'n Lake will be the predominant destination in Highlands County and all of Central Florida - outside of Orlando - to live and recreate," said Grieshaber. "It gives us a chance to evolve into a family recreation center."

Conceptual plans - which would likely require future funding - call for construction of tennis courts and ball fields.

Grieshaber anticipates a spring-time groundbreaking followed by 18 months of construction during the initial phase.

Grieshaber also said he hopes at the start to secure a pair of Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) grants at $200,000 each. Contingency funds and already budgeted funds from the capital improvement plan will also be used.

No firm decision was made concerning an activity fee, said Grieshaber. The current activity fee is $75 per person per year and $150 for a family.

Grieshaber said the current pool will be demolished in favor of the proposed construction because the present pool is "not conducive to the residential property owners" and is instead a "resort pool."