LAGRANGE, Ga. -- West Georgia is getting a 500,000 square foot resort in 2018.
After Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. announced they are bringing a Great Wolf Resort to LaGrange, 11Alive looked into what it took to bring them here. A release from the company said they expect to bring more than 600 jobs into the area and invest $150 million.
LaGrange city officials say Great Wolf is investing $150 million into building the hotel and water park. Marketing for the resort will be financed through hotel-motel tax revenue from the resort.
Great Wolf is set to receive around 31 percent of the hotel-motel tax revenue. When marketing the resort using that revenue, Great Wolf must include LaGrange. The city also will have input on how LaGrange is presented in the marketing.
For 15 years, Great Wolf will also be given a tax break on property tax. Its annual property tax bill will start at 10 percent of the assessed property tax. The bill will then increase each year by 5 percent.
LaGrange mayor Jim Thornton said the city has previously offered incentives to attract industrial companies and now they’re focused on boosting their tourism economy.
“Great Wolf is investing $150 million in our community, creating close to 500 jobs,” Thornton said. “Obviously they will also have a significant tourism impact. Certainly that is a level of investment that we can incentivize.”
Last year after hearing from citizens, councilors in Peachtree City voted against Great Wolf opening a water park resort there.
Thornton said several weeks later executives with Great Wolf gave him a call.
“It seemed like a really good fit for us as we try to diversify our economy, try to grow some of the tourism assets in the community,” Thornton said. “It really seemed like something we should get behind and embrace.”
Here is what to know about the resort
LOCATION
The resort will be located in LaGrange, which is about an hour from Atlanta. On I-85, it'll be off exit 13 at Whitesfield Road. The exact location of the resort inside the city has not been released.
TIMING
According to a release from the company, the resort is expected to open sometime in 2018.
WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE
Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. have only released renderings of the outside of the facility.
Great Wolf Georgia renderings
Here are photos of another Great Wolf Lodge in North Carolina.
Photos | Great Wolf Lodge
HOW IT WORKS
They consider the resorts "full service." There are family suites that each sleep at least five people. There will be 456 guest suites at the Georgia location, according to a press release. There are on-site restaurants, family-centered attractions, spas and their popular indoor water park, among other attractions. According to a release, "admission to Great Wolf Lodge Georgia’s indoor water park will be exclusive to resort guests, and included with each overnight reservation."
HOW MUCH IT WILL COST
The resort is estimated to cost around $170 million to build.
The City of LaGrange
An adjoining conference center will be financed using a $17 million bond and owned by the city of LaGrange, according to the newspaper. That bond will be repaid through hotel-motel taxes generated at Great Wolf.
Guests
It's not clear how much suites will cost at the LaGrange location, but at their Concord, NC resort, rooms start at around $250 a night for a standard suite.
