Allen, Texas, is courting a Wisconsin-based company to build a 1.2-million square-feet waterpark and resort center in the city, less than two months after a wake boarding park closed in the area.
Proposed plans for the resort include an indoor and outdoor water park, a family entertainment center, a convention center and 900 hotel rooms, according to the city. The new resort could employ up to 1,000 people, and would be a nearly $1 billion investment.
In its first 10 years of operation, the new resort could add more than $5 billion to Allen’s local economy, according to a feasibility study paid for by the city.
Allen officials are seeking to offer property on the southwest corner of State Highway 121 and Stacy Road that is under contract with the city’s economic development corporation.
In a statement, Allen Mayor Baine Brooks said the project would be “a game-changing opportunity.”
Approval of the incentive package and lease agreement would not ensure Kalahari Resorts’ expansion to Allen. The project has not yet gone through the city’s planning and zoning procedures.
“While we do not have finalized plans at this time, we are encouraged by the positive discussions with the city and state representatives we’ve had up to this point,” Todd Nelson, founder of Kalahari Resorts, said in a statement.
In December, the city terminated a land lease agreement with Hydrous Wake Parks in Allen, citing breaches in the contract.
Owners of the wake board park, which still operates in Little Elm, have said the decision to close was not theirs.
