April 16–By summer 2015, Southeast Texas could have a water amusement park built on 10 acres of Jefferson County property near the Ford Park Exhibit Hall.
And the year after that, convention-goers could be attracted to Beaumont because they’ll have a 200-plus room hotel — an Embassy Suites, perhaps — built adjacent to the exhibit hall.
Beaumont City Council and Jefferson County commissioners did their parts this week in approving 10-year incentives for the twin developments.
John Hughes, Ford Park manager, said if the hotel developer is able to sign a contract to build an Embassy Suites, Beaumont would become that chain’s smallest market city in which it would operate.
Embassy Suites, owned by Hilton Worldwide, is in just 200 cities, he said.
Here’s what Hughes said the water park could include:
– Multiple vertical slides
– Multiple twisting slides
– a wave pool
– saltwater pool
– lazy river
Now it’s up to the financial analysts for the developers of the proposed water park and hotel to quantify just how much the incentives would equal during the 10-plus years they would run.
If the numbers work and the developers can attract financing, then construction could begin.
While the Jefferson County Commissioners Court supported its part of the incentives unanimously, City Council had one abstention — Jamie Smith is a county employee — and at-large councilman W.L. Pate voted against the proposal.
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