Ladera Ranch-based Clearwater Waterpark Development LLC is looking to build three water parks, including a potential one in Irvine’s planned Orange County Great Park.
Last month, plans were approved for Clearwater’s Splash Canyon water park in Temecula, set to be built on 20 acres in the city east of Orange County.
Clearwater now is working to build Splash Canyon’s tube slides, a wave pool and other features on 20 acres leased there.
In April, a similar park was approved in Bakersfield that is set to cover 18 leased acres and add about 300 jobs. Construction could start in the spring.
The developers are hoping to win approval to build a third park as part of Irvine’s redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine base as the Great Park.
The project could be a successor to nearby Wild Rivers Waterpark, which is set to close after its lease expires next fall.
Clearwater, which was formed in 2005 by developers, investors and water park executives, is looking to spend about $70 million developing the three parks. About a third of that is being raised from investors with the rest coming from loans.
The money might not be fully raised until next year, according to Clearwater principal Evan Gentry, given a still-rebounding market for raising money.
According to Clearwater’s Web site, it is seeking minimum investments of $50,000, with the prospect of a 10% rate of return.
Gentry, who also runs Ladera Ranch-based real estate investor G8 Capital LLC, puts deals together and raises money for Clearwater.
“Six years ago doing something like this wasn’t on my radar,” Gentry said. “But when I looked, I realized these parks were cash cows.”
Joshua Hunter, who previously worked for Aliso Viejo-based Onti Construction Co., heads up development efforts for Clearwater.
Day-to-day operations of the parks will fall under Greg Briggs, Mike Riedel and Kevin Kopeny, who all hail from Wild Rivers.
Wild Rivers in Irvine is set to close after 25 years to make way for 3,700 homes planned by Irvine Company near the San Diego (I-405) Freeway and Irvine Center Drive.
Clearwater’s proposed Irvine park would span 20 to 25 acres—at least a third larger than Wild Rivers.
The project needs to be approved by Irvine’s City Council and the board for the Great Park, which is making design plans for the 1,300 acres of the former El Toro base.
The cost of a water park in Irvine is estimated at $32 million, more than Clearwater’s other smaller parks, according to Gentry.
Clearwater hopes to strike a 30- to 50-year lease with the city for the project.
So far, there doesn’t appear to be competition for a water park at the Great Park.
“I am not aware of other developers interested in the Irvine project,” Gentry said. “There seems to be consensus to allow the Wild Rivers team to continue their track record by building a new and improved water park.”
Clearwater added educational features to the water park’s design after working with Santa Ana’s Discovery Science Center in a bid to better fit the goals of the Great Park.
If approved, the water park isn’t likely to happen before 2011, according to Gentry.
The project could create 800 to 1,000 jobs, many of them seasonal, he said.
Clearwater hopes to run the park year-round, a rarity among water parks.
Wild Rivers gets an estimated 400,000 visitors from May to September. A year-round park might draw an additional 50,000 to 100,000 visitors, Gentry said.
Cost of admission is expected to be comparable to Wild Rivers, which advertises $32 for general admission and $20 for people less than 4 feet tall.
The Temecula and Bakersfield parks would charge slightly less, according to Gentry.
Most of the costs for running the parks go to employees and utilities, he said.
The parks tend to do OK in slower economies, with many families skipping vacations and doing more local activities, Gentry said.
His G8 Capital, which has bought more than $200 million worth of homes by the bundle from lenders, plans to have $300 million invested by the end of next year.
In all, it will have about 5,000 homes across the country, he said.
