An artist’s rendering of Brightwater Lagoon under construction in the Brightwater community in North Fort Myers. PROVIDED

Brightwater Lagoon, a 6-acre, man-made pool with a number of amenities in North Fort Myers, is holding a hiring event this weekend with more than 50 positions available.

Brightwater Lagoon General Manger Jimmy Cruz said this property is Metro Lagoon’s fourth with the other three located in the Tampa area.

The other locations include Southshore Bay Lagoon in Wimauma, Miranda Lagoon in San Antonio and Epperson Lagoon in Wesley Chapel.

“This is the first lagoon outside of the Tampa Bay area,” Cruz said of the North Fort Myers facility. “We are excited to bring the lagoon life down here to this community.”

Although the Brightwater Lagoon, which is part of the Brightwater community in North Fort Myers, does not have an official opening date yet, a hiring event will be held this weekend, today, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 8630 Sunny Page Lane, North Fort Myers.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to bring on some front-line team members in various roles,” Cruz said. “We are getting closer and closer to the opening date. We are in the final stages of construction and working with the county on approvals needed for us to open.”

The more than 50 positions available are in food and beverage, admissions staff, lifeguards and grounds teams.

“We have our own food trucks and multiple areas where people can get food and non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks,” he said, adding that they need bartenders, barbacks and servers.

They also need a small team for guests that are coming from the outside, or residents to go through an admission process to make sure guests enter the lagoon in a timely fashion.

Cruz said they also need a grounds team to take care of the cleanliness of the entire facility.

“The majority of the positions are part-time,” he said.

Cruz said they have a small team taking care of the property and getting assets into place, but it is now time to bring on some more people to get them trained and ready for opening.

Those interested in attending the job fair are encouraged to first apply online at MetroLagoons.com/Careers.

“They have the ability to read details about each position and pay to make decisions,” he said. “We are eager to help the applicants answer any questions during that process as well. We can obviously talk about which position would be best for them here on site.”

Cruz, who has a background in theme parks, worked for many years in the Tampa and Orlando area for such parks as Universal Studios, Bush Gardens and Sea World.

“I had some mutual colleagues considering working for Metro and it got me energized to join the team,” he said, which brought him back to Florida from Oklahoma. “It’s a great opportunity to live in a different part of Florida and experience Southwest Florida.

The lagoon itself is six acres and is provided as an amenity for the residents that live in the Brightwater community, a master plan community in North Fort Myers, Cruz said.

“Instead of having a golf course, a big club house, it is a 6-acre lagoon with sandy beaches, water activities, and a resort style swim up bar,” he said. “First and foremost, it is an amenity for the community, but we can also bring in guests that can come in for the day and join in on the fun as well.”

Brightwater Lagoon, Cruz said, is great for all families – the folks that live in the community, or folks that live in the area and want to check it out.

The lagoon also offers kayak and paddle boards rentals, inflatable obstacle course in the middle of the lagoon, a water slide, food trucks and various shade options.

“The water obstacle course is for those that want to get in there and climb and be able to enjoy a big playground on the water. It’s all an inflatable obstacle course that pieces together,” Cruz said. “It’s a fun opportunity to do something like that in the middle of the lagoon.”

Brightwater Lagoon also offers a VIP area – Cabana Cove – to elevate individuals’ experience with such options as renting a cabana, shaded seat areas and a more secluded dedicated swim area and a bar.

“This facility is going to be great for the residents and general public,” Cruz said. “The residents are going to have a really great opportunity to use this facility. We are going to have a lot of activities and events – trivia nights, fitness classes, cigar nights – build that community for them that gives them the opportunity to really enjoy living at Brightwater.”

For more information, visit metrolagoons.com/lagoon/brightwater. He said they will make sure they have plenty of room for residents before setting the rest of the attendance they feel they can bring in for the general public.

“Everything is sold online,” Cruz said. “We hope to open this year as soon as we get the green light from those helping us with the approval process and finishing out the construction. We are excited to bring on some more people as we get closer to that date.”