Photo: Koa Bay
A $600-million project that will soon become the world’s largest wave pool is underway on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Koa Bay, which will be built halfway between Palm Beach and Cocoa Beach, Florida, will be a 204-acre development “anchored by a Wavegarden Cove.” It’s not tough to imagine surfers in that part of the country will welcome a spot where they can get chest- and head-high waves on demand.
All 204-acres and more than half a billion dollars aren’t going into waves, of course. Like other, similar developments, Koa Bay is really a retail space and condo development with a wave pool dropped into the middle of the community. The large resort is already taking deposits on “memberships,” according to its webpage. With a $1,500 downpayment, future members can secure a “Fractional Resident” membership, which seems to work like a time share. It includes 40 days of access for a total cost of $5,650. Full Resident Memberships are going for $45,000, promoting “daily access to the Wavegarden Cove & UNIT Surf Pool” as well as full access to the development’s other amenities. The deposit will run you $11,250.
And those other amenities? How about access to Koa Bay’s golf carts, surf coaching programs, trainers, co-working offices, biking paths around Koa Bay’s canals, and more?
The resort is also pre-selling packages for surf sessions, apparently. The Bronze package offers 15 sessions for $1,080 per year on the low end. At the high end of the scale, a Centennial package has 100 sessions, discounts on private training sessions, and a Surfline membership — wildly ironic for a membership to a wave pool — for a $600 downpayment and $5,625 annually.
