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Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge image via Great Wolf Resorts

published on February 27, 2023 - 3:52 PM
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Great Wolf Lodge will not build in Visalia after all, said a top Tulare County economic development official.

This week Mike Washam, assistant director of the County of Tulare economic development agency, confirmed the Chicago-based developer of Great Wolf Resorts has decided not move forward on what had been touted as a $2-billion-impact project to build a 500-700 room resort and water park at the Sequoia Gateway Commerce Center near Caldwell Avenue and Highway 99.

As recently as December, news reports said the resort project — first proposed in January 2022 — was expected to break ground in 2023 and open in 2025. As of a few months ago, Washam was still optimistic.

But Washam says he was advised last weekend that the company, which operates 19 Great Wolf Lodge resorts across the U.S., decided that “the timing was not right” on the Visalia location, suggesting they were busy breaking ground on resorts in other parts of the country.

“I don’t think they have any other potential locations in California they prefer,” instead focusing outside the state, said Washam.

Great Wolf has existing California locations in Anaheim and Manteca.

A statement from Great Wolf Resorts confirming the canceled plans hints at a possible sale of the property:

“As we look to expand the Great Wolf Lodge experience to more families, our current priorities are to continue investing in our existing resorts, successfully open the resorts currently under construction and pursue growth in areas most under-served by Great Wolf Lodge. Understanding these priorities, and with another interested buyer, we have reached mutually agreeable terms with the landowner in Tulare County to terminate our agreement.”

“We are extremely appreciative of both Tulare County and the City of Visalia for their partnership throughout this exploration process,” the Great Wolf statement concludes.

According to its website, new Great Wolf Lodge projects to break ground most recently include Mashantucket, Connecticut; Webster, Texas; and Naples, Florida.

Washam has been leading an effort to bring Great Wolf to Tulare County, offering an incentive package that included a 15-year rebate of bed taxes and deferral of fees on the 35-acre project. The Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved the offer last summer.

The project envisioned visits of up to 600,000 tourists each year, mostly from the Central Valley. Catering to families, all Great Wolf resorts have an indoor water park, restaurants, arcades, spas and other activities.

Washam says the County had taken care of the proper environmental approvals, although the scale of the project had drawn some opposition.

“The only remaining agreement that was pending but never finalized was with the City of Visalia” on the use of its wastewater facility, said Washam. Talks on this issue have been going on for months with no resolution. But aside from now-retired Visalia Councilmember Greg Collins, no other city opposition has surfaced publicly.

For the property owner — Sequoia Gateway Commerce Center — the loss of this big anchor tenant must be a bitter disappointment given the long wait to develop their center, first discussed at a county hearing back in 2015. To date, only one highway commercial tenant has built on the open land — a Dutch Bros coffee drive-thru.

Two medical facilities have been proposed on the land — one by Valley Children’s Hospital for a clinic and one by Kaweah Health. Neither have moved forward.

Washam says he understands another developer may be interested in buying the entire 126-acre Sequoia Gateway land to develop it. The former farm field was approved for commercial development by the County since it is located outside the Visalia city limits.


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