TRACY, Calif. -- The City of Tracy is getting their own year-round 16-acre water park.
The site plan for the Tracy Aquatic Park was unveiled on Wednesday morning at the park's future location just off of Corral Hollow Road near the Ellis subdivision. Locals say this project has been a long time coming.
"In the 30 years that I’ve lived in Tracy, there’s only been one pool facility," Marsha McCray, a Tracy resident said. "As a result of being on the board of the Tracy Tritons, and understanding the lack of availability of swim water, we started an effort really, just to get a pool."
McCray was a part of the group that first asked Tracy City Council for another city pool nearly 15 years ago. On Wednesday, that idea has evolved into a full blown water park.
"This council, we made sure to say, 'Let’s just stop talking about it and let's get it done.' So that’s what we’re out here doing today, is we’re getting it done," Robert Rickman, Mayor of Tracy said.
"I think it’s really the biggest thing that’s happened in Tracy in its existence," Les Serpa, founder of The Surland Companies said.
It's a $55-million water park funded partially by some city development fees that have built up over time and by The Surland Companies, a locally owned development company.
“We’re providing all of the land at no cost to the city. We’re providing $10 million of funding and we’re providing millions of dollars of infrastructure and we’re planning it and building it for the community," Serpa said.
It's set to create about 1,000 jobs for people in Tracy.
"We’re going to have water slides, a lazy river, a 50-meter pool, a workout center, a 25-meter pool, and cabanas. You name it, we’re going to have it," Rickman said. "It’s going to be a huge destination for our families and people throughout the region."
And after all these years of city council, planning, and community meetings, this is something McCray, couldn't be happier for.
“I did indeed shed some tears of joy because it’s a reality now, and it’s so wonderful, and I can’t wait until the day it opens and people from Tracy get to bring their children and get to enjoy this," she said.
Although it won't be ready to go until the summer of 2021, she says it will all be worth it.
"It's something that everybody can enjoy, no matter what," she said.
Continue the conversation with Lena on Facebook.