Council crafts proposal to bring Great Wolf Lodge resort to El Paso
The City of El Paso has crafted a tax incentive proposal meant to attract a Great Wolf Lodge family resort and hotel to Northwest El Paso.
Great Wolf Lodge, which has 17 locations in the US, is part of the largest family of indoor water parks in the country.
The proposed 44 acre site for the hotel and resort in West El Paso is just east of I-10, next to the new West Towne Marketplace. It would be located at the intersection of Paso Del Norte and Desert Blvd. right next to the Harvest Christian Center.
On October 30, 2018, El Paso City Council is scheduled to consider an ordinance that would allow the city manager to enter a land exchange agreement with the owner of the proposed site for the resort. The City would exchange more than 2,300 acres of public owned land in Northeast El Paso for the property in Northwest El Paso, which is owned by billionaire businessman Paul Foster.
The City agenda states both properties are worth $18.6 million. If the land swap is approved and the City gains control of the 44 acres in Northwest El Paso, the City would lease the land to The Great Wolf Lodge. The resort would have a convention space, pending state approval, that would be used by the City to attract conventions.
Jessica Herrera, the City of El Paso’s director of economic development, told ABC-7 the resort would have at least 350 rooms that will start at $250 a night. Although you have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy the indoor water park, you would not have to stay overnight in order to enjoy its outdoor entertainment facilities or its restaurants.
If the proposal passes, Herrera said the economic impact for the city could be huge. “When you look at what the impact is over a 10-year period, at a minimum, we the City conducted that independent study, and we looked at what will that do for a city our size, and for that type of an impact, it does close to 700 million in just 10 years,” Herrera said.
According to the City of El Paso, nearly 1,200 jobs would be created during construction of the family resort. Once the resort is operational, it has the potential to create nearly 400 permanent jobs, the City said in a presentation obtained by ABC-7.
“There is a pipeline of workforce opportunities here that ensure that we obtain some of our people and that we offer them an opportunity to establish a career, especially, when you look at a company like Great Wolf Lodge that has great jobs and great benefits,” Herrera said.
The resort would represent a $160-million capital investment in El Paso, is expected to generate a $680-million economic impact over a 10-year period and has the potential to draw more than half-a-million visitors to El Paso every year, the City said.
Currently, the closest Great Wolf Lodge to El Paso is in Grapevine, Texas. The chain focuses on family vacations by including activities like the indoor water park, climbing walls, rope courses and bowling.
The incentive package proposed by the City includes:
– 15-year 100 percent Property Tax Rebate (incremental)
– 15-year 50 percent city rebate on the hotel occupancy tax
– 15-year 100% city sales tax rebate
– $520,000 in infrastructure and safety improvements funded by the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone in that area
– $5-million development grant funded by El Paso Water utility
– $18.6 million as part of land exchange
The proposed package also includes the following state incentives:
-10-year 100 percent state sales tax rebate
-10-year 100 percent state hotel occupancy tax
The Great Wolf Lodge could also qualify for the State Convention and Hotel program. If approved, it could receive $4-million annually from the program.
A realtor told ABC-7 the resort, if eventually built, would likely impact property values about a year after it is open for business.
Realtor Mario Ayala said if property values increase, so do property taxes. “You’re probably looking at extra hundred, two hundred dollars per year” for a property currently worth about $177,000 a year, Ayala said.
Joshua Villalva told ABC-7 he had mixed feelings about a resort going up near his home. “People are probably going to have to worry two times harder if they’re not making enough money or if they’re barely on the edge of making enough for what they have right now,” Villalva said.
Jorge Pompa, who owns a shop near the proposed site for the resort, said he understands his property’s value may increase, but also expects his bottom line to go up as well. “I think this will bring a lot more business, which is something we look forward to,” Pompa said.
