Bloomington City Council in Minnesota are progressing with plans to construct a $250m waterpark next to the Mall of America (MOA), one of the top tourist destinations in North America.
The City Council, together with the Port Authority, recently approved a $10.1m contract for the project to go ahead in the South Loop District, a distinctive urban centre and trendy neighbourhood for business and employment.
The waterpark will cover an incredible 335,000-square-foot, making it one of the largest indoor waterparks in the United States.
A skyway will attach the waterpark to the MOA via the Marriott Hotel.
The council is to collaborate with the owners of the MOA, Triple Five, to determine the design of the waterpark, as well as the projected construction costs.
As well as the MOA, Triple Five own the West Edmonton Mall (WEM) in Alberta, western Canada. WEM already features a 215,000-square-foot waterpark with multiple rides, slides, surfing leagues, a wave pool and other attractions. The popular waterpark attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year.
Pulling in around 40 million visitors annually, the Mall of America is one of the leading tourist venues in the United States.
Gene Winstead, the Mayor of Bloomington, spoke about the now concrete plans set in place for the site.
“The City Council and Port Authority took an important step tonight towards making the waterpark project a reality which would be an amenity, not only for Bloomington, but for the Minneapolis-St. Paul region,” said Winstead.
