The
Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is primed to potentially become a major destination with the creation of a large indoor waterpark resort.
Great Wolf Resorts announced last week it has signed a letter of intent to develop a resort adjacent to the 1.1 million-square foot Tarentum mall. The resort will be developed by Johnstown, Pa.-based Zamias Services, Inc., which also leases and manages Pittsburgh Mills, which opened in 2005.
"A lot of our Great Wolf Lodges are built in existing tourist destinations or next to what we call larger demand generators, meaning that lots of people come there already," says Steve Shattuck, Great Wolf spokesperson. "In this case, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is already a huge demand generator, so we're excited about this partnership."
The resort will be built on a 5-acre site originally intended for a Nascar-style racetrack.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2010, and Great Wolf hopes to open by the end of 2011. Shattuck says the resort will create hundreds of employment opportunities--each resort generally employs between 400 and 600, ranging from management staff to housekeeping to lifeguards.
Great Wolf Resorts, based in Madison, Wis., is North America's largest chain of indoor waterpark resorts, with a dozen facilities in such locations as Williamsburg, Va., Niagara Falls, Ontario and the Pocono Mountains, Pa. The company's resorts are family-oriented destinations that generally feature 300 to 600 rooms and a large indoor entertainment area measuring 40,000 to 100,000 square feet.
Through Great Wolf Resorts' environmental sustainability program, Project Green Wolf, the Company is the first and only national hotel chain to have all U.S. properties Green Seal Certified – Silver.
Sign up to receive Pop City each week.
Writer: Caralyn Green
Source: Steve Shattuck, Great Wolf Resorts
Photograph courtesy of Great Wolf Resorts