Schlitterbahn parks on Padre Island

CORPUS CHRISTI – Construction on Padre Island is set to begin soon after the holidays on the island’s newest attraction — Schlitterbahn.

The $41 million resort, west of Park Rd. 22 on the site of Padre Isles Country Club, is expected to open in March 2014. Early designs show the project will include a 65-acre water park with lodging, golf and restaurants.

It will be built on the existing golf course and tied into a master plan for the area that includes a marina in Lake Padre, an extension of the residential canal system, hotels, condos and single-family homes on about 500 acres of mostly undeveloped land.

Under a $117 million incentive agreement with the city, Schlitterbahn must begin construction by the end of February. The water park is part of a proposed $552 million master plan for the island, which investors Willard Hammonds, Paul Schexnailder (with Asset Development) and the Henry family (owners of Schlitterbahn) are developing.

Materials for the water park are being prefabricated in New Braunfels — where the company opened its first water park in 1979.

Read more at the Corpus Christi Caller Times.