With hundreds of jobs, tens of thousands of square feet of new convention and meeting space and acres of adventure-themed activities, the newest resort to the Pocono Mountains is about to plant its flag in the tourism stakes.
With hundreds of jobs, tens of thousands of square feet of new convention and meeting space and acres of adventure-themed activities, the newest resort to the Pocono Mountains is about to plant its flag in the tourism stakes.
If successful, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions – Poconos, which opens on July 15, could bring a colossal economic impact to the region by attracting not only groups of fun-seeking families, but businesses looking for fresh venues to conduct meetings and host conventions and trade shows. It also means nearly 900 jobs at the start – with more to come upon a planned expansion to be completed in two years.
Officials from Wisconsin-based Kalahari Resorts & Conventions disclosed details for the $350 million entertainment/recreation destination at a groundbreaking ceremony at Pocono Manor Golf Course in October 2013. And now a site tour this month shows signs of construction nearing completion for the region’s first African-themed resort.
The arrival of hundreds of authentic artifacts from six African nations offers glimpses of what will be greeting visitors on walls, lobbies and hallways throughout the site.
As workers toil away at pouring concrete for the indoor waterpark, colorful slides and water coasters rise in the foreground. And in the nearly finished 20,000-square-foot ballroom, workers are hanging massive cone-shaped chandeliers.
The company owns African-themed resorts and water parks in Ohio and Wisconsin and is launching Kalahari Resorts & Conventions – Poconos, its first destination resort to the Pocono market off Interstate 380 at Exit 3 in Tobyhanna Township.
The site includes an outdoor adventure park, hotel, convention center, spa and salon, golf course, retail shops, full-service restaurants and indoor and outdoor water parks, bringing hundreds of construction jobs to the region. And this is just the first stage of development.
“Phase two will begin right when we open with phase one,” said Steve Magnuson, vice president and general manager of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions – Poconos.
The second part, to be completed in March 2017, includes adding 400 guest rooms to the hotel, bringing the total number of rooms and suites to 857.
Also in the works are a 100,000-square-foot addition to the indoor water park space and a planned expansion of the outdoor water park by two to three acres, Magnuson said.
