living on lake apopka....anyone?! (Ocoee, Winter Garden: HOA fees, houses, buying)

[pinchy]

Thinking about moving from Windermere and buying and building in the Winter Garden area on Lake Apopka....curious if it's as good as it seems...or if I'm crazy?!

[traysea]

Pinchy--
If you don't mind me asking.. where in WG? Is there more land where you are thinking of building????
I am hoping to move back to Oakland and would be interested in buying land -- what is on the MLS in Oakland is a joke price ( 149k for 1/4th of acre).. what kind of deal did you get??? I'd be willing to look at WG if the deals were better and no HOA fees
Thanks Tracey

[Prichard]

You should know that Lake Apopka has a long history of being very poluted. Lots of pesticides and fertilizer from former farms and groves have found their way into that lake. Plus, it's the lowest lake in the area and I believe the Dora chain of lakes drains into Lake Apopka. Lake Apopka is or has been described as a "dead lake".

From Wikipedia:

Lake Apopka has a history of more than 100 years of human alteration, beginning with construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1888. In 1941, a levee was built along the north shore to drain 20,000 acres of shallow marsh for farming. The discharge of water, rich in nutrients from agricultural and other sources, produced conditions that created a chronic algal bloom and resulted in loss of the lake’s recreational value and game fish populations.

In the late 1990's, birds at the lake were actually falling from the sky and dying in large numbers. Most of the dead birds were White Pelicans, but Great Egrets and Ring-billed gulls made up most of the other deaths. The deaths were thought to be tied to pesticides that farmers depended on for decades, called organochlorines. Lake apopka also had a drought. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warned that people shouldn't eat fish caught in Lake Apopka, since the chemicals were labeled as a possible cause for the deaths.

Now, I know that there was a lot of talk about 10 years ago about drawing down the lake and cleaning it up. I think the county may have even partially attempted this once, but I don't think anything's been done that really cleans the lake up to date. Yet, Bella Collina seems to be fetching some pretty high prices for houses on Lake Apopka.

[mcbadhair]

When i lived in winter garden 5 yrs ago i would not even go close to the lake.
Now some developer bought cheap land on the lake and selling it people who don't know any better.

[rholborn]

Maybe you should look to see what other lakes are great communities to live on. I know of a few that are great. do you want to boat on the lake, or kayak and canoe(no boats allowed?)

[copswife]

Lived here a long time. Can't understand why people would spend big bucks to live on this lake. Gray water, can't swim in it, smells funny.

[FL2CA]

Im in a new subdivision off of Lake Apopka...Westyn Bay...Nice and breezy right now...since it's new there's not too much going on...we're right across from the Ocoee HS...one HUGE negative are the amount of bugs that are out here...it's like they just plowed straight through the swamp on this one......

Hit me up for some martinis and mojitos!

[Prichard]

Ever go swimming in your lake FL2CA? Water skiing? Ever see anyone swim in that lake? Just currious.

[FL2CA]

Not yet...I use the pool instead of the Lake.

[kymmyiam]

I noticed there were posts re. Lake Apopka in Florida. I wrote a well-researched article about Lake Apopka and the the efforts of the St. John's River Water Management District to return the lake to Class III water quality. So although the lake is currently still "polluted" significant agressive efforts are ongoing. Right now, there are areas around the lake that are suitable for eco-tourism and you can also fish on the lake. There's also a beautiful trail that winds in and around Orange County. Since the clean-up efforts have begun around the lake and a new freeway is connecting right near it, my father's property value has tripled and continues to climb. Now is a great time to buy property around Lake Apopka. In about 10-20 years when the lake is flourishing again property wil be incredibly more expensive.