Large-scale water park envisioned

Large-scale water park envisioned

Written by Christi Snow Sunday, 07 January 2007

Volente Beach owner presents ambitious plan to City Council

If all goes as planned, by 2008 Cedar Park may have a water resort anticipated to draw 4,000 visitors a day between May 1 and Labor Day.

“I think it would do for Cedar Park what Dell Diamond did for Round Rock,” Rick Redmond, the project developer, said. “This particular attraction is unique.”

If he gets what he wants—and he is quick to note the plans are anything but finalized—then the unnamed park will far surpass what he has as owner of Volente Beach, which cannot be expanded from its current five acres because of community regulations.

The new park will sit on 20 acres at FM 1431 east of Parmer Lane. Along with water rides and a lazy river that flows through the property, its conceptual design includes what Redmond describes as an “aquarium on steroids,” where visitors can swim with tropical fish using the help of a shallow diving system called Snuba, which mixes Scuba diving and snorkeling.

Out of town visitors will be able to stay inside tree houses reminiscent of those in the novel, Robinson Crusoe. The 10 different structures, designed to mesh with the surrounding forestry, will have a main room that opens to three bedrooms. The cost of each room, around $250 per day, will include passes to the water park.

On an additional 50 acres at the site Redmond plans to purchase, he envisions a 250 to 300-room hotel that includes around 9,000 sq. ft. of conference space with a separate small meeting center. Eventually, the property could also add an upscale development modeled after the Legacy Town Center in Plano.

Redmond would like for the water park to open by Summer 2008, the hotel to follow by that Christmas and to add the town center three years later. For him, none of it will come too soon. He has already visited for a year with the city’s economic development director Phil Brewer to discuss the different elements of the endeavor.

Originally, Redmond looked at the city because 40 percent of Volente Beach’s season pass holders lived in Cedar Park. Although he has investigated other options in different parts of the state, Cedar Park is Redmond’s first choice.

“I think everyone is pretty sold on Central Texas,” he said.

If all goes as anticipated, he hopes to purchase the property by Feb. 15. Before that happens he will need cooperation from the City Council because the 70 acres he wants to buy is zoned for commercial- or office-use only. A 10-acre portion is not even within city limits and must be annexed from Cedar Park’s extra-territorial jurisdiction.

So far everything has fallen into place. Last month, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to form the area into a planned unit development, which creates unique guidelines and standards for a specific project to be built in the designated land. In this case, the PUD is Redmond’s water park.

At the Jan. 11 city council meeting, residents surrounding the proposed PUD voiced concerns in a public hearing. Even though most of the residents live in Round Rock’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, they asked the council to consider their noise, privacy and lighting fears.

“Certainly, we all want to see a project that the city, the developers and the residents can all be proud of,” Duane Smith, Cedar Park transportation and planning director, said. “We also want to be as protective as we can for the future of Cedar Park.”

City staff, the council and Redmond will continue to work with concerned residents and landowners, as well as to make the PUD language as detailed as possible until the final vote next month.

If the council approves the PUD and the annexation, Redmond anticipates his investors will give their approval to move forward with purchasing the property.

Even at that point, both the city and the project developers will still have work to finish, including handling traffic concerns, finalizing designs and financing and ensuring every aspect meets city ordinances.

“I think we have some obstacles and hurdles before we get there, but if we can overcome those, then I think we have a good chance of getting this,” Brewer said. “I don’t think at this point any of those obstacles are insurmountable.”

The Visionary, Rick Redmond

Opening a large water resort was not something Rick Redmond always planned. It is a dream that evolved from a history of business endeavors.

Redmond began his career as a dentist in 1977 after graduating from Southern Methodist University and Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. About the same time he began to invest in different businesses, mimicking his family’s tradition of self-employment. He opened restaurants, gas stations, real estate investments and a baseball umpiring school in Arizona. He also started Lone Star Café, Inc. in 1980.

“Some of my investments have been great and some haven’t, but I have learned a lot from these experiences,” he said.

Although still a dentist consultant, he sold his practice in the early 1990s and bought Volente Beach as a water club, restaurant and marina. He soon found the business in its out-of-the way location could not sustain itself. While taking his kids to Schlitterbahn, he realized the potential market he could access. Redmond bought two slides from the New Braunfel’s attraction and Volente Beach became an official water park. Now the five-acre site includes sandy beaches, volleyball courts, a children’s swimming playground and a basketball court, along with the park’s original features.

Besides business, he enjoys his family. He married his wife, Jill more than 30 years ago after they met while working in a restaurant. They have four children and a daughter-in-law.

“My motto is think it, do it, live it,” he said. “You only live once. Be happy, healthy and wise.”