South-end waterpark finally moving ahead, developer says
Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 29, 2016 | Last Updated: April 29, 2016 7:12 PM EDT
For the past eight years, the much-anticipated Alottawata Ottawa waterpark in the city’s south end has been nothing more than a faded sign in an empty field, but that’s about to change, according to the park owner.
Proslide Technologies Inc., a designer of waterpark attractions around the world and owner of Cantley’s Mont Cascades, has been busy acquiring land around the 100 acres it already owns at the corner of Bankfield Road and Brophy Drive, filing new site plan approvals to the City of Ottawa and meeting with city councillors from that area as the company begins to turn its focus back to opening Alottawata Ottawa in time for summer 2019.
In short, the project is finally moving ahead.
“I’m doing it. This is going to happen,” said Rick Hunter, founder of Proslide.
“We don’t want this to go on for ever and ever.”
The original plan for 10 water rides on the site, now about 150 acres in size, has been downsized somewhat in order to get the park open for visitors quickly.
Proslide plans to add a major new attraction to the park each year afterward, the same approach that the original owners of Canada’s Wonderland took when they opened north of Toronto in 1981.
While Hunter wouldn’t specify how many rides he’s targeting for the park’s planned 2019 opening, he said he plans for the development to be “a world-class waterpark” on par with others his company is involved with around the globe.
Hunter realizes that the project has become a bit of a punchline for Ottawa residents who’ve been anticipating the park since it was first announced in 2008, but he says he’s deadly serious about getting this done. Starting off smaller will also allow the businessman to finance the park himself, without outside investment or partners.
“Every smart waterpark does it this way,” he said.
Proslide is already among the world’s largest designers and manufacturers of waterslides. The company is installing its slides in more than 65 waterparks around the world. Last year alone, it received five awards from organizations, including the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and several from the World Waterpark Association for rides the company has installed in Bangkok’s Pathum Wan district and another for an installation at Six Flags WhiteWater in Atlanta.
“I’m an Ottawa business guy and I am proud to be doing business here in Ottawa. We’re going to be the world’s centre for waterpark development.”
Drawing particular attention is the company’s HydroMagnetic slides, which incorporate technology used on high-speed bullet trains to propel inflatable rafts through twists and turns. ProSlide recently installed two HydroMagnetic slides in Abu Dhabi, right next to the country’s new Formula One racetrack and $1.5-billion Ferrari museum.
Orders from China and the United States have also had the firm’s employees working overtime. Proslide has expanded from about 30 employees in 2011 to more than 100 today. The additional staff has allowed Hunter to turn some attention back to developing Alottawata Ottawa, while keeping the rest of the business focused on exporting slides.
He has also begun the process of selling off a 34,000-square-foot warehouse in Rigaud, near Montreal, which is used for research and development in creating new slide technologies. The facility is being relocated to the Alottawata site, which underscores Hunter’s intention to use the new park as a giant laboratory where Proslide can create and install its cutting-edge waterslide designs for Ottawa residents to try before selling them to the world.
“I’m dying to do this. But, as an entrepreneur who has to run a business, I want to make sure a plan is in place,” said Hunter, adding that it has been difficult to find time to dedicate the focus necessary to Alottawata. “My enthusiasm for this project never went away.”
Last week, Hunter met with Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder and Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt to show preliminary plans and discuss issues facing the development. Both of the councillors confirmed the meeting took place and expressed support for the project as it could bring hundreds of thousands of visitors into their wards, boosting the economy and creating jobs, especially stable, seasonal summer jobs for youth in the area.
Both Harder and Moffatt said a new interchange on Highway 416 at Barnsdale Road would be needed to facilitate the traffic that is expected. A “Barnsdale exit” would give commuters a second route they could use to access Alottawata on Moodie Drive. Official City of Ottawa plans have identified Barnsdale Road for an interchange. Widening Barnsdale to four lanes has also been discussed.
The two are already working with city staff to see if there is any way to speed up approvals for Hunter’s plans.
Barry Nabatian, a market research analyst with Shore Tanner & Associates, said the proposed location for Alottawata could help the park attract more than 220,000 visitors annually. It’s closer to downtown than the Calypso Theme Park in Limoges, it’s an easy drive for people coming from Kingston and Eastern Ontario, and it will be 40 minutes from the United States border.
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