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Paradise Lakes expanding again
By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer LAND O'LAKES -- North America's most visited nudist resort is outgrowing its britches once again. Just months after it completed 71 new condominiums off U.S. 41, Paradise Lakes is preparing to break ground on dozens more apartments on nearly 4 acres south of its residential gate on Brinson Road. "They're going to be really upscale," Paradise spokesman Bob Moore said without elaboration this week. The 70-acre "clothing optional" resort is also making room for 72 RV spaces about a mile away on Leonard Road, near the entrance to another nudist resort, Lake Como. Although the RV park won't abut its other property, Paradise plans to shuttle RV customers to and from the main walled resort. Selling the property shouldn't be a struggle. Each year, Paradise attracts about 75,000 American and international visitors to its Club Med-style resort. Those wanting to stay longer find residential property inside the compound scarce and expensive. Regarded as the nation's nudist nirvana, Land O'Lakes is home to five nudist resorts, ranging from slick to grungy. The gravitational pull of the resorts is also filling nearby non-nudist neighborhoods with a dare-to-go-bare crowd. Paradise's growth strategy has taken shape under pressure from Caliente, a soon-to-open resort at U.S. 41 and Carricker Road that purports to be more upscale than Paradise. Caliente owners say they are 10 months from opening a 34,000-square-foot nightclub/restaurant/health club complex. Add to that Caliente's proposed 350 houses, mobile homes and hotel rooms, and Paradise can expect to feel competitive heat. Paradise owner Joe Lettelleir, who bought the property in 1999 from founder Fred Bischoff, has asked architects how many condos would fit on the 4 acres, Moore said. Earlier estimates placed the number at 60. Paradise has sold all but two of its 71 newly completed condos on Brinson Road, dubbed the Fountains of Paradise. They bring the resort's total residential units to 566.
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