Gilroy
– A group of real estate investors hope to convert Gilroy
Gardens, a family theme park nestled along the foothills of Hecker
Pass, into a $200 million water park and high-end resort that could
attract visitors from across the globe.
Gilroy – A group of real estate investors hope to convert Gilroy Gardens, a family theme park nestled along the foothills of Hecker Pass, into a $200 million water park and high-end resort that could attract visitors from across the globe.
The proposal, delivered Friday morning to city and park officials by a pair of real estate consultants and investors with Alliant Real Estate and Financial Services in Campbell, comes as Gilroy City Council mulls a $12.4 million purchase of the 536-acre site.
“We’re not going to turn that resort into a Six Flags or Great America,” said Robert McDuff Sr., an investor and consultant with Alliant. “We don’t want it to become something where we have people come to the city of Gilroy for just one day, but for a few days. It will be a regional resort and a worldwide attraction. We already get people from Japan and Europe for the Garlic Festival. Why not enhance that and do it nine months of the year?”
The investors want to bring two large roller coasters and a “mega water ride” to the park by June 2008, followed by the opening of an indoor-outdoor water park and a six-story hotel by the summer of 2009, according to a written proposal given by Alliant. Stores and restaurants would be located along a miniature downtown in the mold of Disneyland or other large theme parks.
The proposal would also include four music theaters devoted to classic rock, country music, gospel music, and plays and other performances. Plans call for three music shows a day, six days a week during a proposed operating season stretching from February through December, McDuff said.
Part of the hotel would be built underground and the new attractions would be configured to reduce their visibility along the tree-lined corridor, he added.
McDuff said the park would retain its family theme and educational bent, as originally envisioned by founder Michael Bonfante. The former grocery store magnate whose family started Nob Hill sits on the park’s board of directors, but declined to comment on the proposal.
“These are not the first people to ring our doorbell,” said Bob Kraemer, president of the nonprofit park’s board of directors. Kraemer and Assistant City Administrator Anna Jatczak met Friday morning with McDuff and Sam Roham, who have created investment company Destiny Capital Solutions, in Nevada, to back the deal.
To sweeten their proposal, McDuff said his investors are willing to give the city 5 percent of the park’s future profits.
