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Politics & Government
Yes, you read that correctly. The developer of the project anticipates investing up to $350 million on the highly anticipated project.
Posted Fri, Feb 9, 2024 at 7:18 am CT|Updated Fri, Feb 9, 2024 at 8:46 am CT
One of the latest renderings of the project (City of Northport )
NORTHPORT, AL — A public notice issued Friday by the Northport City Council says the developer for the city’s proposed mixed-use water park development anticipates a total capital investment of approximately $350 million once the project is fully developed over multiple phases.
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As part of the proposed public-private partnership agreement, the city would pay University Beach, LLC — the developer for the project — an amount not exceeding $20 million for certain public improvements for the project area. If successful, the project would be a major victory for city leaders, who have touted the possibility of serious financial returns as well as improvements to the quality of life for residents.
Based out of McKinney, Texas, according to business entity records filed with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, University Beach officially began doing business in Alabama as of Jan. 30 of this year.
“With what started out as a small idea of mine in January 2020, has now morphed into a proposal of a public-private partnership to enhance the original idea,” City Council President Jeff Hogg told Patch. “I look forward to hearing the proposal and making an informed decision for the overall good of our city.”
Tuscaloosa Patch could not find records of any prior or ongoing projects for the private firm, which does not have a website and reported its formation date in Texas to be April 27, 2023.
If Northport enters the agreement, its share of the funding would come from $45 million in bond money already secured by the city for the purpose of large-scale recreation projects such as a world-class youth sports tournament facility and a proposed adventure sports park off of Rose Boulevard that was the original intended site of what was first conceived as a water park.
Dirt is already moving on the sports complex, dubbed River Run Park, as Patch previously reported. The entire new development will be referred to as Northport Shore and will encompass River Run Park, Kentuck Park, Warrior Baseball, and Northport’s Levee Trail, as the city looks to promote connectivity and sports tourism.
This is already expected to work in concert with the proposed mixed-used water park development, while also providing a host of new amenities for locals to also enjoy.
City leaders will meet on Feb. 19 and discuss the public-private partnership with University Beach, who would be responsible for building up the project if and when dirt starts moving, in addition to operating it once it’s up and running.
According to the city, University Beach aims to build a:
“[F]irst-class, mixed-use facility, in two or more phases, with a water park that has a lazy river, a water slide tower with at least five slides, a kids zone with interactive water features, and an approximately 10-acre lagoon with a sand beach, together with a beach club with at least 10,000 square feet of indoor restaurant and bar space and an outdoor concert stage and facility with at least 12,000 square feet of outdoor seating, along with residential lots, hotels, retail space, an event center, and parking and other infrastructure.”
In total, University Beach and the City of Northport are looking to develop approximately 11.73 acres of vacant commercial land currently owned by the city off of McFarland Boulevard, in addition to 85.61 acres of property situated nearby.
As Patch previously reported, the City of Northport officially closed a deal in late 2022 to purchase the 11-acre parcel along the U.S. Highway 82 corridor in the vacant tract adjacent to Big Lots, Tractor Supply Co. and Zaxby’s. This came after the city purchased the Rose Boulevard property in September 2021 from from the Black Warrior Solid Waste Authority for $700,000 with the intention of that site being the home of the water park.
This plan was abandoned, however, once city leaders saw the expensive task before them of grading down the rugged terrain, so the decision was made to pivot toward an adventure sports park for the property by building out mountain biking trails and incorporating other outdoor amenities.
Nevertheless, the public notice for the upcoming council meeting says the construction, development and operation of the project, as stated by the city, is expected to generate significant annual taxable sales, in addition to a substantial boom in full and part-time jobs for the local economy.
As part of the potential incentives for University Beach, the City of Northport will consider a rebate to the developer in an amount equal to half of the city Sales Tax proceeds and half of the city Lodging Tax proceeds collected and received by the city from each new business located within the proposed development.
The 30-year agreement that will be considered by city leaders also states that the aggregate amounts of the city’s initial project investment and the project’s city tax payments received by the developer are not to exceed $61,058,171 if the project comes to fruition.
The City Council at its next public meeting will consider the adoption of a resolution that would authorize the city to enter into the proposed agreement while considering criteria such as:
The city says drafts of the proposed agreement may be inspected at the city administrator’s office at Northport City Hall during regular business hours ahead of the scheduled meeting later this month.
Here’s a look at the full public notice published on Friday:
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