Planning is still underway for the construction of a 71-acre water park in on the northwest side of Maricopa, Arizona.
The project, PHX Surf Park, is expected to include two large wave pools, water slides, a bike track, lazy river, and both restaurants and stores.
It is expected that the park, to go up on currently vacant desert land near the intersection of Smith Enke Road and Loma Road, will be built in multiple phases.
According to pre-application papers submitted by the developer, PHX Surf LLC of Maricopa, the project is described as one that will offer “advanced active entertainment, progressive surfing experiences, water play, related retail and dining, concert and open space, and hospitality.”
More specifically, the project could also see the construction of a hotel, sand volleyball courts, a bike pump trail, and a tiny house village anchored by its own clubhouse.
Members of the Maricopa City Council have now voted in favor of allowing for the purchase of three parcels of land at the site in order to build the project.
In a statement, Maricopa Mayor Christian Price said the project represents the city’s “first dabble into the tourism industry. We don’t have a Grand Canyon; we don’t have a snow-capped mountain that people come to, so we have to get creative.”
In so doing, the council also established a timetable of roughly four months for both the developer and the City of Maricopa to do their respective due diligence for the project.
If either the city or PHX Surf should decide within that four-month period to not move ahead with the project, they can opt out of the land purchase contracts.
By Garry Boulard
