Supercharger - Plantation, FL

[Bill D]

Several local Tesla owners and I went with the Tesla Regional Manager to the Plantation Town Council meeting when he made his initial Supercharger pitch to them last October.

At dinner with him before the meeting we obviously asked how this location was selected. He told us that before he reached an agreement with the owners of the Fountains, he had tried to reach agreements for several locations in Weston and Sawgrass Mills but met with resistance and eventually gave up.

It sounds like his thinking wasn't far different than many contributors to this thread. His [FONT=&amp]responsibility spans from DC to FL to LA, so [/FONT]he had many other sites to also worry about. I think he did his best here considering the facts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Fountains will work out OK.

 

[davidc18]

I am surprised that they did not have success here in weston and more so at sawgrass.

 

[Larry Chanin]

I am surprised that they did not have success here in weston and more so at sawgrass.

David,

Had the Plantation site been abandoned, Weston was receptive, and would have been considered if a suitable location could be found.

Larry

 

[davidc18]

Many, many Teslas driving around town here.

 

[Mnlevin]

There could be many reasons other than that. Like one other poster said, they gave up on other locations instead of maybe working a little harder. Maybe they did know someone at the Fountains and found it easier to do business there. I didn't imply that someone was paid off you are reading too much into it. Just because they may not have found the best location for travelers doesn't mean there was illicit activity, just they didn't do a very good job. Let me make that clear. BTW I shouldn't be upset about it, I will probably never use that location, I charge at my house and have never needed an outside charge locally. I hope they eventually finish the charger in Greenville SC, because I sometimes need to travel from Charlotte to Atlanta and that is a really big gap, this location really doesn't mean very much to me personally. So sorry if I offended anyone.

 

[smartypnz]

Many, many Teslas driving around town here.

And if most of them are local, no hurry for the SC (since SC's are primarily for travelers to recharge).

 

[GeekLad]

And if most of them are local, no hurry for the SC (since SC's are primarily for travelers to recharge).

Agreed, concentrated local ownership should have little bearing on the placement of Superchargers. Superchargers should be placed on frequently traveled routes with quick and easy access, as well as nearby restrooms and restaurants for weary and hungry long-distance travelers.

I also agree with those that have stated that the Sawgrass Mills would have been a better location. It not only is easily accessible from I-595, but also from I-75 and the Sawgrass Expressway. It would have been better for those bound for the Keys from the west coast, as they wouldn't have to travel about 15 miles out of the way to backtrack I-595 to get back to I-75 SB (not horrible in the grand scheme of things, but still a bit inconvenient).

However, the info that Bill D provided about the regional manager having sought out locations in Weston and the Sawgrass Mills was certainly illuminating for me. It shed light on why they weren't building one in the Sawgrass Mills area instead of the middle of I-595. As he stated, it sounds as though the regional manager's head was in the same place as many of us.

I, for one, am very glad that everything finally went through with the permitting for Plantation and that ground should break soon.

 

[BlkCld]

Hi Mark,

I accept your knowledgeable perspective since you are a local. Perhaps that's why Tesla is still pursuing the Miami Supercharger which is only about 30 miles away.

Maybe this is not an analogous situation, but prior to operation there were some legitimate complaints about the Brandon location with regard to potential traffic, but on the whole the location is very strategically located.

From the Google street view to the uninitiated this location looks as good as it is going to get at the Fountains Shopping Mall.

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In 20-20 hindsight I am one of those who would have liked to have seen Tesla walk away from Plantation, because I'm not entirely sure that they "get it". Now of course Tesla has a lot sunk into the project as you say both in money, engineering and in time.

Larry

Thanks Larry,
I just hate to have seen so much time and effort put into a location that is not that great for travelers. Locals would deal with it but it will be a headache for long distance travelers that want easy on easy off access charging.
I did read later posts where they tried Sawgrass and others to be turned away.
I guess we should be grateful at least there will be one albeit it far from perfect.
Since there is so much political BS about selling them then maybe some mall owners are under the same motives.
On another note if anyone has any affiliation with American Express Corporation there is a huge multi acre project at Sawgrass area that the land was just cleared.
Corner of Sunrise and 136th next to Sam's Club and TGI Fridays.
That would be very convenient for Sawgrass Expwy/75/595

Thanks again Larry. I'll be checking out the Brandon location in a couple days and compare.
Mark

 

[Lawsteve]

Hi Guys,

Although I don't think you'll find any of my postings providing a promise, ...

Larry

Although Larry said he thought they would break ground "by month end" he did not specify the month.


Looks like he's starting to adopt some "Elon time" techniques!!

 

[Larry Chanin]

Although Larry said he thought they would break ground "by month end" he did not specify the month.

Hi Steve,

Very good.

Spoken like a true lawyer. :biggrin:

Larry

 

[aviators99]

Other than the inevitable ICEing issue, I think the Plantation location is a good one.

 

[davecolene0606]

Anybody see any shovels yet?

 

[Bill D]

Anybody see any shovels yet?

I drove past there just over a week ago and didn't see any signs of construction activity.

 

[auger]

Went by there this around 7:30 evening. Absolutely nothing new.

FWIW, the parking lot was fairly busy, but all of the proposed SC spots were open.

 

[jbcarioca]

The municipal website https://aca.plantation.org/CitizenA...38N&agencyCode=PLANTATION&IsToShowInspection=
shows zero change with no inspectors assigned. Is this site about to die after spending all this time and money? Weston sounds better and better, or Sunrise, where the Rouse Companies official posture is to have EV charging and Sawgrass does have copious parking areas.

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[Bill D]

The municipal website https://aca.plantation.org/CitizenA...38N&agencyCode=PLANTATION&IsToShowInspection=
shows zero change....

In looking it over, I saw, under Record Details/More Details/Application Information/Plan Review Expires: 05/25/2015, which is today!

 

[fuelsman]

Plantation/Miami is no longer on the Tesla Supercharger map for either coming soon or 2015. It does show up on the 2016 map. This may represents a long delay for a new site selection.

 

[Mnlevin]

Plantation/Miami is no longer on the Tesla Supercharger map for either coming soon or 2015. It does show up on the 2016 map. This may represents a long delay for a new site selection.

Just looked at it this morning and it is still there.

 

[Kalud]

Just looked at it this morning and it is still there.

Yes it is, and even gone from "Coming soon" to "Open now" which is probably just an error...

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Oh actually its the West Palm Beach Supercharger that is "missing". Looks like they actually wanted to drop the Plantation location but ny mistake removed West Palm Beach...

Here's the findus version:

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... And the Plantation is only visible on the 2016 map. Perhaps they decided to focus effort on another location in the mean time...

2016 map:

 

[auger]

I emailed the supercharger team yesterday. It was a standard reply, except they included a snapshot from this morning's "Today" supercharger map that shows a gray "coming soon" Plantation sc dot. I just looked, and it's not there now. In the text of the email, they said Plantation was still "coming soon." So it looks like the map is being worked on with sc dots randomly coming and going as we have all seen before.

Separately, a non-Tesla source told me construction had not started because Tesla was waiting for an easement from the landlord. No estimate was given, and there's nothing Tesla can do until they get it.