Yahoo Finance Massive Derby Shores project now at $160 million with new, well-known Wichita partner
After a few years of false starts and delays, the group bringing the massive Derby Shores project to Derby has a new partner and an expanded $160 million plan.
Wichita businessman Dave Murfin and Kansas City developer Rick Worner brought in Rodney Steven II as what Worner called their component developer — the one who will build and operate a four-and a-half-acre crystal blue lagoon with various water features and activities.
It was Steven — who is best known for his almost 70 Genesis Health Clubs nationally and the Genesis Sports Complex, aquatic complex and Blast Off Bay water park in Goddard — who bumped up the lagoon size from the original planned two acres.
“I didn’t think it would be enough of a draw,” Steven said.
“I just wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to do something little.”
The tourism draw is the point behind the larger $100 million STAR bonds district that Derby created, first for Worner’s Field Station: Dinosaurs park in 2018. Then in 2022, Derby approved just over $30 million in STAR bonds for Derby Shores.
STAR bonds are sales tax and revenue bonds issued through a state program meant to be used for tourist attractions that draw new money to Kansas.
When STAR bonds projects work as intended, the new sales tax revenue generated by a development allows cities to make annual payments to the state and retire debt over the life of the bonds. Basically, it’s a way for cities to get new attractions without asking taxpayers to pay for them up front.
However, some Derby taxpayers have been skeptical and critical of both the dinosaur park and Derby Shores.
“Everybody predicted the dinosaur park would never open,” Worner said. “There’s always skepticism whenever you’re talking about bringing tourists.”
Others have criticized the park for not bringing in as many tourists as Worner had predicted, but he said it’s building in popularity and what it offers each year.
Worner said the pandemic hurt everything, including the planned start of Derby Shores a few years ago with his and Murfin’s first partners — the original team behind Great Wolf Lodge.
That group now is involved in a huge project near Branson, Mo., and Worner said that deal is taking all of its time and capital.
That in turn slowed his project and necessitated a new partner.
“We’ve had to hit the reset button.”
Worner said Steven is a natural, particularly with what he’s accomplished in Goddard.
“If you saw how he’s done the baseball fields in Goddard, they’re the home run of all home runs,” Worner said.
“He’s demonstrated to me that he can draw people from out of state consistently.”
‘Absolutely beautiful’
There will be many components to Derby Shores, but the centerpiece is the lagoon, which is in partnership with a national company called Crystal Lagoons that creates them all over the world.
“I’ve gone to a few of these places,” Steven said. “They’re absolutely beautiful.”
Sand surrounds the zero-entry lagoon, which goes to depths of 8 feet.
“And you feel like you’re on a beach,” Steven said. “We’ll bring in tons and tons of white sand.”
He compares it to the Caribbean “except the water is even clearer.”
There will be a boathouse, beach volleyball and all kinds of water activities, including slides, paddle boards, kayaks, power boards and glass-bottom boats.
There also will be docks and a wedding peninsula.
Steven said certain areas will be roped off for activities, some of which will be available at certain times only.
“Everything will be programmed.”
There will be waterfront restaurants, a tiki bar, a climbing wall, a zipline, an aerial park with climbing ropes, a BMX course, a picnic lawn, a park for camping and an esplanade for events.
In addition to all the activities, there will be a hotel and residential features, including apartments and senior housing.
Worner said he’s in talks with component developers for the hotel and residential developments.
There’s utility work already happening at the Derby Shores site, which is near 63rd and Rock Road just east of the Sandbox, a sports entertainment complex at 2412 N. Rock Road that Steven recently acquired through Genesis.
It’s also part of the STAR bonds district.
From the time actual construction starts later this year, it will take about 24 months to complete the development. Steven said he hopes it can all happen simultaneously, from the lagoon to the hotel to the residential areas, although the hotel and residential will happen in phases.
Steven said there’s a lot of excitement about the tourism draw Derby Shores will have, but he said there’s so much for the residents of Derby, too.
As he said in a statement announcing his involvement: “There’s going to be so much more to do in Derby; most cities don’t see this much growth in a decade, let alone all at once.”
A bit of reworking
Due to the expanded lagoon plans, the master plan needs some reworking, Worner said.
The partners hope to present Derby with a new plan in May.
With the larger lagoon, there needs to be more parking, which means some other features may have to shrink, or the partners may need to acquire a few more acres, Worner said.
Neighbors of the development, especially those to the south, are concerned about its impact, but Worner said there will be lots of berms and vegetation to create a barrier around Derby Shores.
He said he specifically chose Derby for how well he thinks the development will fit there.
“Derby is where all the families are.”
Worner has a long development history, including with STAR bonds projects.
He was involved in bringing Great Wolf Lodge, Cabela’s and Nebraska Furniture Mart among other things to the Kansas City area.
He’s also behind the recently announced Mattel Adventure Park coming there.
“We’ve got a pretty good traffic record,” Worner said of himself and his partners. “These are all tourist generators.”
He said it was when he was working on Greenwich Place at K-96 and Greenwich in Wichita that he first began thinking of Derby.
“I had never thought of Derby, Kansas, until I started to talk to people in Wichita,” he said. “I was blown away by the number of people who said, ‘You’ve got to go to Derby.’ ”
Worner said his behind-the-scenes work on developments happens long before announcements are made and component developers take over.
He said he’s already thinking of his next potential Wichita-area developments.
“I’m actively pursuing numerous other attractions for the Wichita market,” Worner said. “There’s all kinds of cities in the Wichita market we could go to.”
