Wet, wild Fitchburg
Water park developer eyes Best Western property
A Milwaukee-based company is eyeing Fitchburg's troubled Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel as the possible site for a year-round indoor water park.
"We believe very much in the concept of what the water resort can bring to a hotel," said Ed Carow, managing partner of Wave Development LLC.
The company, which operates the Coco Key chain of parks at locations including Danvers, is seeking tax breaks at the local and state level to move forward with the project. So far, those negotiations have been going well, Carow said.
"Frankly, it's an important part of the puzzle because we are going to be investing a great amount of money and taking a significant risk in the transaction," he said.
After buying the property, Carow said, the company would probably put about $30 million into renovating the hotel and building the new water park. He said Wave Development retains ownership of the hotels it acquires but works with major hotel companies like Marriott to brand the hotels and use the corporate reservation system.
The entire facility would employ about 150 more workers beyond those currently at the Best Western, Carow said. He said the water park would include slides, a "lazy river" ride, wave pools and other activities. It would attempt to draw people from a 100-mile radius, acting as a weekend destination, while also hosting events like birthday parties for people from the Fitchburg area.
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