Planned Mega-Community Just In The Dream State For Now

A lot of people around Highlands County are questioning the possibility of a mega-community being built in the southern part of the county. It's not that they necessarily support it or oppose it, they just are wondering: "What in the world?" That's because of the presentation by AtlanticBlue to the county commissioners last Tuesday about their wish to build a new city that could have a population of up to 125,000 people.

The conceptual master plan shown the county showed that the 65,000 acre Blue Head Ranch would offer 100 square miles, with 31,000 acres being preserved for all time for conservation purposes. The rest would consist of 20,000 acres of development with 54,600 housing units.

Along with all of that would be up to 2.5 million square feet of retail shopping and almost 900,000 square feet in office space. Even with all that development, Blue Head Ranch would continue farming 9,000 acres.

Does all of this sound a little pie in the sky? If so, that's because it is. But we don't fault AtlanticBlue for shooting for the stars. Just the same, it's incredible to believe that something so huge could be built here.

Where would the jobs come from? Why would so many people move to the self-contained city unless major manufacturing located there? Even with a, say, GM plant, that wouldn't bring anywhere near enough people for those plans. Are we talking about another The Villages?

AtlanticBlue representatives stressed that this is a long-term conceptual plan. That means it's the organization's dream, not based on any reality of the market at this time. Perhaps 50 years from now maybe? Who knows.

Far be it from us, though, to shoot down someone's dream if it isn't costing the public money. AtlanticBlue owns the Blue Head Ranch, so it's their land. As long as it doesn't hurt our environment - and that's what the land set-aside is all about - all power to them.

It will be interesting as time goes by to see if this pans out. Some big players are behind AtlanticBlue, so maybe they know something we don't. State Sen. J.D. Alexander is a leader in this project, to name just one.

As for local residents being concerned about a new metropolis in Highlands County, don't get too worked up. Dreams and reality can be miles - and years - apart.