Great Wolf Resorts Inc., the nation’s largest operator of indoor water park resorts, is aiming to build a $130 million facility at Lake Lanier.
The huge project would include a 450-room hotel, a 20-acre water park and a conference center with meeting space for 2,000.
Great Wolf Resorts
Great Wolf has built several similar resorts before in Williamsburg, Va.; Kansas City, Kan.; Niagara Falls, Ontario, and in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.
The company has been negotiating with officials in Cumming for about 18 months and kept details under wraps, calling it “Project Fun.”
The water park and resort would be located at Cumming’s Mary Alice Park, which sits on a peninsula on the Forsyth County side of Lake Lanier.
Local Government Supporting Project
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to give Great Wolf a 50-year lease, with the option of a 50-year extension, Gravitt said.
The city of Cumming has pledged $10 million in improvements and incentives.
The state has committed $1.6 million for road improvements around the park, and the county is being asked for $5.1 million as part of an incentives package.
State Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) said the project could be a tax windfall for the state and county, as well as a boost to local employment beginning in the construction phase. The project may bring up to 400 new jobs.