Nudist cash breathes life into county economy

When someone asked Ron Weisser whether the surrounding nudist developments would detract from the marketing of Wilderness Lake Preserve -- a 795-home community he's developing in Land O'Lakes where homes will cost up to $600,000 -- he had to give a little chuckle.

Ahhh . . . so clothes-minded.

The fact is that Caliente, the nearby nudist resort under development on U.S. 41 about 5 miles north of State Road 54, is going to be one of the most upscale places to live in Pasco County.

Hands down.

With or without clothes.

The 58 homes in the development -- 14 of which have already been sold -- run for about $500,000 a pop. That's more than triple the average price of new homes in Pasco: $160,000.

And the average incomes for residents in Caliente are far higher than the average in the county, Caliente's owner said.

In fact, the prices of the homes in Caliente put it on par with Lake Jovita and other rare, high-end quarters of residential development in Pasco.

Who says we need any corporate headquarters to upgrade the county's economy? We just need more nudists with deep pockets.

Well, you know what I mean.

Chuck Foster, vice president and partner in the group that's developing Caliente, says they get about 10 inquiries each day from all over the world -- some ring in from as far as Germany and Switzerland.

"The Europeans are not so closed-minded," said Foster. 'They accept (nudist recreation) as a way of life and a lifestyle."

So Caliente also is helping the county become more ethnically diverse.

Plans for Caliente include 132 one- and two-bedroom condominiums, 48 large villas, 113 "casitas" and a 40-unit hotel. Including the single-family homes, about 122 units have been sold so far, totalling $12-million.

The developers have marketed Caliente through a monthly national trade publication of the American Association for Nude Recreation, called "The Bulletin."

Up until recent years, Foster explained, most of the nudist facilities were campgrounds or trailer parks. Paradise Lakes, a clothing-optional development that was built 20 years ago, revealed that nude living could be a success here with single-family homes and condominiums, he said. "Now we're just following suit, making it a lot bigger and a lot better. There's a real need," Foster said.

Catherine Walton-Schroeder, a spokeswoman for Paradise Lakes, agrees.

In that development, which is just off of U.S. 41 just south of State Road 54, some homes span 5,000 square feet and carry price tags exceeding $1-million. Two condos that have their own pools in the back cost about $500,000 each. Demand is fierce for the high-end properties.

"Being a nudist has grown so much in the last five years. The new yuppies, we just can't keep up with the demand," she said.

"We have to build a wall around us, our security is very high, and people pay to have that privacy and that freedom. So it takes a lot of money to live in a clothing optional park."

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