Plans change for Cedar Bayou water park

CEDAR RAPIDS - Developers of the proposed Cedar Bayou indoor/outdoor aquatic center no longer have their sights set on building near the Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Expo Center, the location that was announced last October.

Nick Ford, CEO for the proposed development, announced Wednesday that an early spring survey of the land near Hawkeye Downs on Sixth Street SW showed that the bedrock was too deep to support the size of structure he wants to build. Building a secure foundation there, he said, would add five percent to 10 percent to the $70 million to $85 million budget.

'We were really looking forward to joining up with them,” Ford said of Hawkeye Downs. 'I always really liked Hawkeye Downs, the way it was when I was a kid. I wanted to bring that back. The land just won't support the weight.”

Plans for the water park include indoor and outdoor water parks with rides and a lazy river, space for competitive swimming, a hotel, an RV park and a food court with restaurants and shops.

The whole complex could cover about 30 acres, including a parking lot, Ford said. The indoor amenities could measure more than 60,000 square feet, while the outdoor water park could cover about five acres, Ford told The Gazette in an earlier interview.

Now, Ford said he is working to focus on about 10 potential locations on the south side of Cedar Rapids.

Building an aquatic center near the College Community School District would fill the need for a pool in the area and be further away from competition, Ford said. He also said the south side of the city is ideal because of its proximity to The Eastern Iowa Airport and Kirkwood Community College.

Ford is hoping to secure a location in the next few weeks, Easy access to the interstate will be a selling point for a location, he added.

And Ford still is hoping to wrap up work on the indoor water park in 2018, though the goal was pushed back from early 2018 to sometime in December.

'We'd like to get it done as soon as we can, but we'd like to get it done right,” he said. 'This will be a tourist destination unlike any other.”

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