$60 million Year-Round Family Activity Center

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icejammer
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$60 million Year-Round Family Activity Center

Post by icejammer »

Council to look at $60M activity center
A $60 million one-of-a-kind, year-round family activity center that would include a 12-story hotel/condominium could soon come to Council Bluffs.

The center would be located on 15.15 acres along the west side of Mid-America Drive and south of 23rd Avenue, and would focus on the growing popularity of adventure/action sports like snowboarding, skiing, surfing and skateboarding. . . .

The proposal would feature a 12-story, 400 unit condominium/hotel with banquet, restaurant and retail space. Sports features would include indoor aquatics, bmx/skate facility, indoor/outdoor battery-powered go-kart facility and a year-round ski/snowboard platform.

In all, visitors could take part in 14 different action sports under one roof, Wilkinson said. . . .

It all got started in just the past few months, Wilkinson said, when local officials gave his company a tour of that area where there's so much activity going on, including the MAC and the ballfields at the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex.

"We see this fitting in well with those pieces and enhancing the whole sports mentality," Wilkinson said. "We believe in the site and the growth going on there."

The project would also create up to 350 full- and part-time jobs, perhaps more, he added.

The City Council Monday night will be asked to approve the final plat of the project. If the council goes along, the facility could possibly be built within 14 months, Wilkinson said.
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Post by the1wags »

They should go all out with the ski/snowboard area and just build something like Ski Dubai. What's a measly $300M for year round snowboarding. :)
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Post by icejammer »

Here's a sample from the developer's webpage:

Image
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

YES! YES! YES!  Build it!  I was going to post that this morning, but i should have known that old icejammer would beat me to it :)  That would not only be a huge get for Council Bluffs, but for the metro as a whole!   Think about it: within about 6 miles, you have the old market, new ball park, qwest, zoo, lauritzen gardens, joslyn, western trails museum, UP museum, durham museum, MAC, casinos, lake manawa, star cinema, bayless park & historic downtown council bluffs, and coco keys/fun plex.  And people say there's not |expletive| to do here!
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Post by icejammer »

http://www.wiscnews.com/wde/news/297360

The one proposed for here is virtually identical to the one that was approved for the Wisconsin Dells earlier this week...if you search the site, you'll find Council Bluffs mentioned a couple weeks ago as well.
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Post by icejammer »

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/25867544.html

Another story on the same Dells development, looks like they are planning on another one in Wisconsin as well...
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Post by Jason4225 »

This is great news for Council Bluffs. It is exciting to see the metro as a whole improving. I lived in Sioux City for 25 years and was not used to seeing much development, it's been a huge change here in the last five years. Hopefully the current development around the MAC will eventually spur some interest in the empty retail space next door.

On a side note related to some of the postings I read, I've never understood the bias that many people have in this area. DTO vs. west O, Omaha vs. Council Bluffs. Can't we all wish the best for each area knowing full well that a healthy metro needs each area to maximize its potential.
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Post by icejammer »

Council OKs activity center
The Council Bluffs City Council Monday evening gave its approval to the final plat of a project that would create a $60 million family activity center that would include a 12-story hotel/condominium. . .

"This will be privately owned," said Martin Greenberg, president/managing partner for Wedge Adventure Resorts, Inc. of Milwaukee. "We're not asking for government subsidies or TIF (tax increment financing.) . . .

Construction could start in early September, it was mentioned at the meeting.
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

Jason4225 wrote:This is great news for Council Bluffs. It is exciting to see the metro as a whole improving. I lived in Sioux City for 25 years and was not used to seeing much development, it's been a huge change here in the last five years. Hopefully the current development around the MAC will eventually spur some interest in the empty retail space next door.

On a side note related to some of the postings I read, I've never understood the bias that many people have in this area. DTO vs. west O, Omaha vs. Council Bluffs. Can't we all wish the best for each area knowing full well that a healthy metro needs each area to maximize its potential.
I agree.  

And as far as development goes, I'm sure stuff will start going in like crazy (bike shops, skate shops, snow-board shops).  I'm still curious to see what is being built in there already (looks like a TGIFridays to me).  I think that this is going to be AWESOME!  If we can't get an amusement park, this will be a heck of a start!
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

The word on the street is that the mayor sort of sprung this on the chamber...  They (as i take it) have only known about it for a couple weeks, and that he worked out a deal with the developer on his own.  I was told it might have ruffled a feather or 2 but in the end, when we get all that tax revenue (and a sweet new sports complex), they'll get over it.  :)
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Post by DTO Luv »

Wow. Yay for CB!
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Post by thenewguy »

When you look at this, along with all the other stuff going on between Omaha and Council Bluffs, and really we should all be tickled pink.  I can't think of many (if any) other metro areas that has this much development going on at one time, especially during the rough stretch the economy has had.
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Post by Erik »

thenewguy wrote:When you look at this, along with all the other stuff going on between Omaha and Council Bluffs, and really we should all be tickled pink.  I can't think of many (if any) other metro areas that has this much development going on at one time, especially during the rough stretch the economy has had.

I agree NewGuy, the amount of new development going on around the entire metro is quite unreal, even for metro's much bigger..
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Post by ModestMouse »

uh. holy |expletive|.

just Impressive. and astounding, if this all comes together, i REALLY don't see why Omaha wouldn't have a complete reputation change.
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Post by icejammer »

Final vote on $60M activities center to be held Aug. 25
Progress continues on the construction of a $60 million family activity center in Council Bluffs.

The city's Planning Commission approved its development plans Tuesday night with a final vote set for the City Council on Aug. 25. . .

"This will be a chain that we're beginning here," said Schultz, manager partner of Wedge Adventure Resorts Inc. of Milwaukee. "This is a perfect area to show what a facility like this can do."

If all goes as planned, the facility could be ready to go next September, Schultz said.

"It will be a destination place to come for the weekend," he said.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

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Post by icejammer »

Image

New $60M hotel, rec complex approved
Construction could begin next month on a $60 million year-round family recreational/activity complex near the Mid-America Center, a developer said.

And, it should be done by September 2009, said Josh Schultz, managing partner for Wedge Adventure Resorts Inc. of Milwaukee.

The Council Bluffs City Council Monday evening gave its unanimous approval for the project. . . .

The complex will be located on 15.15 acres along the west side of Mid-America Drive south of 23rd Avenue. The focus would be on the growing popularity of adventure/action sports like snowboarding, skiing, surfing and skateboarding, Schultz said.

Plans call for a 12-story hotel/condominium with amenities like indoor aquatics, BMX/skate facility, indoor/outdoor battery-powered go-kart facility and a year-round ski/snowboard platform.

A water park would be located under the ski slope that climbs to 125 feet. The 400-unit hotel/condo structure would offer banquet, restaurant and retail services. . . .

The developers, however, will have to make sure their outdoor signage meets state regulations about advertisements. Some retail companies may sponsor events there, Schultz acknowledged. According to City Attorney, these companies can't advertise products unrelated to the events or off the grounds of the complex.

"As long as they advertise something that's on the premises," Wade said.

"We will operate within DOT (Iowa Department of Transportation) regulations," Schultz told the council.  
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Wow... That's amazing!
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Post by DTO Luv »

I wonder how they anticipate the condo sales going there. I also wonder what the percentage condo/hotel.
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Post by the1wags »

I realized something on the scale of Ski Dubai wasn't going to happen, but I was hoping for a little bigger hill. O well, I won't |expletive|, I'll still be snowboarding in the summer.  8)

EDIT: Looks like Great Bear in Sioux Falls that I go to is only 185ish so 125 should be pretty good.  :)
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Post by SaOmaha »

You know about the details from Tuesday Nonpareil article mention above, but ...

Last Saturday, The Omaha World Herald had a article on the Proposed Wedge Adventure Resorts near the Mid-America Center.

"Bluffs council to vote on proposed sport resort"
http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2835&u_sid=10413663    
Omaha World-Herald wrote: COUNCIL BLUFFS - Snowboarding in July in the Bluffs? That could happen in a year to 18 months if a Wisconsin company goes through with a plan to build a multisport resort near the Mid-America Center.

The project, Wedge Adventure Resorts, will go before the Bluffs City Council on Monday for final approval of the commercial development plan.

A similar Wedge Resort also is planned for the Wisconsin Dells. The two proposed resorts, if built, would be the first of their kind.

Aspects of the Bluffs resort would be an impressive sight off Interstates 29 and 80. It would include a giant ski slope with an indoor waterpark under the slope and a 12-story tower combining a hotel and condominiums.

The ski slope would be 500 feet long and 120 feet tall and have a synthetic snow surface called Snowflex, made by Briton Engineering.
Omaha World-Herald wrote: It would include a BMX-skate track, indoor and outdoor go-karts, rock climbing and other attractions for speed and adrenaline junkies.

Craig Wilkinson, chief operating officer for Wedge Adventure Resorts, pointed to the growing popularity of sports that will be offered at the resort. The BMX events at the Olympic Games are good examples of the mainstream success these sports are enjoying, Wilkinson said.

Martin Greenberg, the company's president, said Council Bluffs offers access to two Interstates along with "small-town flexibility and big city charms."

Wilkinson cited the resort's location near the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex and the Mid-America Center. The area, he said, is sports- and family-oriented.

This is a scan of the Omaha World Herald's Wedge Adventure Resorts Illustration

Image

Tuesday, the Omaha World Herald had a update on the Wedge Adventure Resorts in the second half of Local Government News brief.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... d=10416246
Omaha World-Herald wrote: COUNCIL BLUFFS CITY COUNCIL

Sports resort green-lighted

What's new: The Bluffs City Council gave final approval to a multisport resort near the Mid-America Center called Wedge Adventure Resort.


What's next: The facility is expected to cost about $60 million. Developers must complete financing arrangements for the privately owned project, which could open in the fall of 2009. The company will work with the Iowa Department of Transportation on roadside advertising.

— Jason Kuiper

I hope this does not go by the way of the Great Escape Amusement Park and other big budget entertainment development planned for Council Bluffs.
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Post by icejammer »

SaOmaha wrote:I hope this does not go by the way of the Great Escape Amusement Park and other big budget entertainment development planned for Council Bluffs.
Valid concerns, but one positive is that Steve Minard's name is nowhere near this proposed development!
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Post by thenewguy »

they better get a move on to hit the September 2009 opening.
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Post by icejammer »

thenewguy wrote:they better get a move on to hit the September 2009 opening.
Don't think Sept. 2009 is going to happen.
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Post by thenewguy »

me neither.  hopefully by spring 2010
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Post by icejammer »

Sounds like they're in the final stage of securing all construction funding for this project and one in Wisconsin.  Maybe we'll hear some good news shortly after the first of the year.
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

i'd like to see how the have the ski slope set up all year; you would think it'd be next to impossible to keep snow packed on there through the summer.  I'd swear i read that they were going to have skiing all year...and from the looks of it, it's on the roof, not indoors!
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Post by Brad »

Probably like this:
Image

which would be good to learn on, but lame for someone that has been skiing in the mountains a dozen times...
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Post by thenewguy »

icejammer wrote:Here's a sample from the developer's webpage:

Image
i don't know...  in the picture, the guy skiing on the upper right, in the right 1/3 of the page, looks like he's 25' off the slope.  I was thinking it'd be like ski Dubai, too, but after seeing that picture again the other day, it gave me my doubts.
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Post by the1wags »

It's not an indoor on "real" (man made) snow. It's outdoor on a synthetic material.
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Post by thenewguy »

Gotcha...that's good news, i was hoping it wasn't just a cool weather thing :)  Would they switch materials when it got colder?
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Post by Brad »

the1wags wrote:It's outdoor on a synthetic material.
How does that compare?
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Post by Garrett »

Well, just guessing, I would think it would be something like powdered sugar, maybe a bit denser.
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Post by 10thstgoober »

I really need to check up on the Council Bluff section more often.  I just learned about this today!  

Outdoor skiing on fake snow in the heat?  eh.  Do they have this else where?
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Post by Linkin5 »

Whats going on with this project, is it looking unlikely?
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Post by icejammer »

from the developer's website...
. . . Thank you Mayor Hanafan, the City of Council Bluffs development team, and Bill Mundt of the Chamber of Commerce for meeting with Wedge’s loan underwriters.

We feel that it is a testament to the strength of our projects that we have made scheduled progress with our lenders even with the current economic turmoil. Wedge Council Bluffs has entered the final phases of construction funding and we expect Wisconsin Dells to follow suit in the near future.
This wasn't on their website earlier in the year, so.....just hold your breath, I'm mildly optimistic this will get pulled off.
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Post by Brad »

Also, a guy that a bunch of you ran off of this forum, that posts on another forum sent them an email and received a reply from the COO that they are behind schedule but still are committed to CB and to look forward to announcements in the months ahead.
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Post by windsor »

It is great to hear that they are still planning to build this project.  This will be an asset to the entire area.
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Post by MTO »

Did this thing fall apart?  Anyone know anything?
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