When Victor Toledo and his partner, Chad Lacerte, were looking for a location for their new wake board park, they approached nearly a dozen cities looking for the right spot.
But once they met with members of the Allen Economic Development Corp. and spoke with representatives of the city of Allen, Texas, they knew they had found the perfect location, says Toledo.
“We talked to several north Texas cities at the same time, and they were all very receptive to the concept,” says Toledo. “But what Allen did differently is that they really stepped up and said, ‘Not only do we like it and want it, we’ve even got a place for it, and we can help you through the approval process.’”
The pair presented the concept rendering for Hydrous Wake Park to the city in January 2011, began construction in April and opened in September. Although there are 230 cable parks around the work, Hydrous is one of only 13 in the U.S., and the only one in America with three cable systems. And after just four months of operation, it was named 2011 Cable Park of the Year by Unleashed magazine, an international wake boarding publication based in France.
“Looking at the success of these parks around world, we thought bringing the concept to a healthy, vibrant market like Allen, especially because it’s in the Sunbelt, would be a good match, as the city is very youth oriented and very sports oriented,” says Toledo. “We really drew on the European parks in our design and strategy to create a ski resort type atmosphere in the middle of the city.”
Smart Business spoke with Toledo about the new business, and how the Allen Economic Development Corp. has been key to its early success.
What part did the Allen Economic Development Corp. and its members play in your decision to locate in Allen?
They have been very accommodating. They have really been a true partner throughout the whole process. Hydrous is located in a city park, nestled between a skate board park and the high school, which has 5,200 students, just opened a $30 million performing arts center and is completing a $60 million high school football stadium. Allen is a city that really cares about culture, sports, recreation and education, and it has done a tremendous job.
We approached several cities at the same time, and Allen was one of them. They saw an opportunity, they saw the presentation, and they immediately set up a meeting for us with the Parks Department and the city manager’s office, and they really helped us expedite the process.
Once things were set in motion, how did the city and the economic development corporation continue to assist you?
We have an ongoing relationship with the city because they are our landlord; we rent space from them. The Allen Economic Development Corp. was our liaison with the city, and they helped us secure a long-term lease on the property at a nominal cost. The fact that we didn’t have to invest any capital up front for the land made Allen a very attractive option for us, allowing us to focus our investment on the building, digging the lakes, digging the well and building a pro shop. We didn’t have to invest anything for the land, and without that incentive, we probably wouldn’t be here.
The city and the economic development corporation are also our marketing partners. One thing that’s attractive about this venue is that it’s a regional draw, and we get a number of visitors from foreign countries. We estimate that less than 10 percent of the people who wakeboard here actually live in Allen.
How has the city assisted you with water concerns?
There was a drought last summer, so as we were digging the two lakes, the city also allowed us to dig a 1,200-foot well so that we would have our own dedicated water source that was not subject to drought restrictions. That’s a big up-front cost, but we now don’t have a water bill.
The city didn’t want us to compete with its existing water resources and was able to accommodate us. And quite frankly, we couldn’t have competed with the existing water resources because of the drought restrictions.
How did your fall opening help you get up and running?
We really would have much rather opened in March at the start of the busy season, but the way it worked out, we signed the lease in January, got engineering approval in March, broke ground and finished by September, which was a pretty ambitious timetable.
So rather than wait until March to open, we decided we wouldn’t open the restaurant until then but we would at least get our feet wet and get some experience under our belts. That way, in March, we are ready to really show our best because we already have five months’ experience running the park.
We had time to make sure we had made good personnel decisions and marketing decisions, rather than just opening in a whirlwind with a brand new staff. And we’re feeling pretty good about our decisions right now.
Would you recommend that other businesses consider locating in Allen?
Absolutely. The economic development council and the city have been tremendous partners. They have a very pro-business attitude and they care about their city. They are very aggressive about attracting the right type of businesses and diversifying their tax base. And in our case, they also provided an amenity that Allen’s residents previously didn’t have — a lake. There was no boating culture here at all, and now Allen has become the wake boarding go-to spot in the country with wakeboarding videos regularly shown around the world.
Victor Toledo is co-owner of Hydrous Wake Park in Allen, Texas. Reach him at (214) 755-9905 or [email protected]. Reach the Allen Economic Development Corp. at (972) 727-0250 or www.allentx.com.
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