Kalahari Development has been given tentative approval to build a waterpark in Allen that will include 900 hotel rooms, an indoor and outdoor waterpark, convention center and family entertainment center.
Allen will lease 108 acres to the developers of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions for the first 20 years. In exchange, the developer will build the town a convention center.
The 123-acre site is at the southwest corner of State Highway 121 and Stacy Road. The Dallas Business Journal reports that once built, the development is expected to create 1,000 jobs and generate more than $5 billion in economic impact during its first 10 years, according to a feasibility study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors. The City of Allen, the AEDC and the Allen Community Development Corp. are also projected to collect $390 million in tax revenue from the facility over its first 40 years.
The project is expected to move into the design and planning phase, which could take at least a year.
