Great Wolf Moves Forward With Renovations at KeyLime Property

GURNEE, IL - After nine years in Gurnee, KeyLime Cove officially closed its doors on Wednesday, making way for waterpark and resort giant Great Wolf to take over the facility and begin its planned $100 million in renovations and updates.

Great Wolf Resorts Inc. closed on the deal earlier this week and Great Wolf spokesman Jason Lasecki told the Daily Herald updates to and the rebranding of KeyLime into Great Wolf Lodge Illinois will begin "almost immediately."

The proposed Great Wolf Lodge redevelopment includes adding 20,000 square feet of new indoor waterpark space, outdoor waterpark amenities, increased shopping options, and the re-theming of the resort to a Northwoods theme, according to the village of Gurnee. In total, Great Wolf will invest $65 million in new construction and at least $100 million on the project, according to the Daily Herald.

Great Wolf is not planning to add anymore rooms to the 414-room resort.

“The village of Gurnee is excited to welcome Great Wolf Lodge in to our community,” said Mayor Kristina Kovarik. “The halo effect from this project will benefit the entire region.”

• Great Wolf Lodge Aims to Take Over, Renovate Key Lime Cove in Gurnee

A revenue-sharing agreement approved by the Gurnee Village Board in February with Great Wolf Lodge will allow Great Wolf and the village to collect $550,000 per year in hotel/motel taxes. Once both have hit that mark, Great Wolf will collect 100 percent of that tax revenue, village officials said. The agreement will run through 2029 and allows the resort to collect up to $18 million.

This agreement would take the place of the cost-sharing agreement the village currently has with Key Lime Cove.

Under that agreement, the village was only bringing in, on average, about $400,000 per year from Key Lime Cove since the water park and resort opened in 2008, according to the Chicago Tribune.

KeyLime officially closed after the final customer checked out on Wednesday. Guests who had a future stay at KeyLime Cove booked will receive notification that their reservation has been cancelled and a refund for any deposit held is being processed, KeyLime officials said in a statement.

• Key Lime Cove to Close Wednesday; Great Wolf to Take Over Facility, Expand
  

"Due to the large number of refunds being processed, it may take up to 30 days for guests to receive a full refund," according to the statement.

Guests holding a KeyLime Cove gift card are eligible to receive reimbursement for any remaining balance on the gift card. Gift card balance refunds are currently being processed and will be mailed to guests within 30 days.

Any questions about refunds or gift cards can be directed to KeyLime Cove management at (224) 656-8685.

Kovarik told the Daily Herald she is grateful Key Lime Cove opened in Gurnee and added that she did not think Great Wolf would have selected the village if the waterpark and resort facility was not already there.

"Key Lime Cove has been a wonderful, wonderful addition to the village and a great community partner on so many things in town," Kovarik said. "And they've done (well) but Great Wolf is the gold standard for water parks and resorts, and I think they are just going to pick it up quite a few notches."

As for when area residents can expect to start checking out and checking into the new Great Wolf Resort Illinois, Great Wolf officials are planning to reopen by mid-2018 and will begin taking reservations about three to four months before opening, according to the Daily Herald.

Great Wolf Lodge runs waterpark resorts in Wisconsin Dell, Wis., as well as in Ohio, California, Texas and other states.

More via the Daily Herald

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