Garden Grove backs subsidized water park hotel

By Nick Gerda, Kitsap Sun

Garden Grove City Council members recently paved the way for construction of a new hotel with an indoor water park with officials set to devote at least $69 million in public funds and land to subsidizing the private project.

Construction site of the Great Wolf Lodge

The Great Wolf Lodge is set to house 600 hotel rooms and 18,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to an indoor water park and play area. The hotel would be built along Harbor Blvd, about a 10-minute drive south of Disneyland in good traffic.

“It’s basically a way for us to get on the map,” said Councilman Chris Phan, in addition to bringing tax revenue for the city.

“This would be the first type of this hotel [on] the whole West Coast,” he added. Anyone living west of the Mississippi River “who wants to experience something like this, Garden Grove would be their only destination,” he added.

As part of a 2010 deal, city leaders agreed to give $5 million to Colorado-based developer McWhinney Enterprises upfront, and another $42 million soon after the hotel opens. Additionally, officials plan to give public land worth about $22 million to McWhinney.

Council members approved its “implementation agreement” last week, setting the stage for construction to start in December. It was passed without discussion.

Taxpayer advocates often criticize such one-time subsidy deals, saying they create an unfair advantage for politically-connected businesses and rarely pencil out for taxpayers.

“In general we find that taxpayers believe that government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the business community,” said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Cities “should concentrate on making the business climate friendly to all, and that’s the way to bring about prosperity. Not picking certain businesses for subsidies, which means that if one business gets” a subsidy, others don’t, Vosburgh added.

City officials, meanwhile, say this deal is a smart investment for taxpayers.

Read the full story by Nick Gerda from Kitsap Sun.