Crystal Lagoons US Corp celebrated the grand opening of the first Crystal Lagoons amenity in the U.S at Epperson, the newest Metro Places community by Metro Development Group, located in Wesley Chapel, just north of Tampa. As the global ambassador for Crystal Lagoons®, one of the most decorated athletes of all-time, world champion swimmer Michael Phelps, was on hand to celebrate the opening of the nation’s first Crystal Lagoons amenity.

To mark the much-anticipated grand opening for the nation’s first-ever Crystal Lagoons amenity, Metro Development Group hosted a daylong tropical-themed celebration featuring water ski shows, flyboarding performances, mermaids in the lagoon, a live Caribbean band performing on Gasparilla Island, and much more.

Crystal Lagoons first partnered with Metro Development Group back in 2015 to bring this Caribbean-beach concept to the U.S. for the first time. Metro originally signed-on to build four lagoon communities, but now that total is up to nine. With more than 600 lagoons in different stages of development worldwide, the 7.5-acre Epperson lagoon is the first to open in the U.S. Crystal Lagoons and Metro will break ground this year on a second lagoon at their new community, Southshore Bay, located in Southern Hillsborough County.

This new lagoon trend is making a splash at resorts, hotels and master planned communities worldwide by utilizing Crystal Lagoons industry-leading technology to transform any destination into a Caribbean beach paradise. With the opening of the Epperson Lagoon, residents can soon swim, kayak, stand-up paddle board and even use a small sailboat across seven acres of crystal-clear turquoise water, steps away from their front door. The lagoon will have recreational rentals onsite. The rapidly growing lagoon area will soon be home to other exciting features, such as a waterslide, in-water obstacle platform, swim-up bar, tidal pool, restaurant, family beach, yoga lawn, an entertainment plaza, and an area for special events.

“We are excited to announce the grand opening of our first U.S. lagoon,” said Christopher Souza, East Coast Regional Director, Crystal Lagoons U.S., Corp. “It’s incredible to have Michael Phelps as our Global Ambassador to celebrate with us and we are looking forward to bringing more lagoon communities to this area.”

Crystal Lagoons developed a patented, sustainable technology that uses less energy, less water and less chemicals than traditional master planned amenities. For example, the lagoons use up to 50 times less water compared to a park of the same size and 30 times less water than an 18-hole golf course. Their industry-leading technology also uses 100 times less chemicals than traditional swimming pools and up to 50 times less energy than conventional pool filtration systems.

“At Metro, we are being thoughtful and innovative when it comes to our communities,” said Greg Singleton, President, Metro Development Group. “We really think about how the families that will live here and when we saw a Crystal Lagoon for the first time, we were in awe. We immediately knew this is something we want to bring to our residents and our communities. It’s exciting to be the first in the U.S. to celebrate a lagoon grand opening, and we are looking forward to opening our other lagoon communities in West Central Florida.”

Epperson is also part of the Connected City, which is the first “Smart Gigabit Community” in the country to be built from the ground up. The plan for the Connected City spans 50 years and upon completion, it will have around 37,000 homes and over 12 million square feet of commercial space, including office, retail and state-of-the-art education, medical and technology facilities.

For more information on Crystal Lagoons, please visit www.Crystal-Lagoons.com.

For more information on Epperson, please visit www.LagoonNOW.com.

About Crystal Lagoons

Crystal Lagoons® is a multinational company, with U.S. headquarters in Miami and additional offices in Dallas and Los Angeles, that has developed an innovative concept and technology, patented in 190 countries, allowing for the construction and maintenance of unlimited size bodies of water in crystal clear conditions at low cost. Crystal Lagoons® impressive turquoise waters are revolutionizing not only the real estate world but also water and energy production. Applications range from bringing idyllic beach life to locations otherwise thought unimaginable, to providing industrial solutions for closed-circuit cooling systems for thermal power plants and data-centers, among others. For more information, please visit www.crystal-lagoons.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

About Metro Development Group

A Tampa-based company founded in 2003, Metro Development Group is committed to bringing some of the most innovative technologies and amenities to homebuilders and homebuyers. With the introduction of the Connected City, Metro Places, ULTRAFi and Metro Lagoons by Crystal Lagoons, Metro continues to be the gold standard in the development of master planned communities. For more information, visit www.MetroDevelopmentGroup.com and www.MetroPlaces.com.