No, this project was planned and initiated prior to Kalahari deciding to come to Spotsylvania County.
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The project is a family resort and convention center. The resort will feature up to 900 guest rooms, a convention center, an indoor and outdoor water park, and other indoor and outdoor activities. The development will also include additional entertainment, recreation and several food and beverage outlets that will be open to the public on 135 acres between U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95 in Thornburg. It is estimated that more than 805 full time jobs and 743 part time jobs will be created by the resort.
Kalahari Resorts, a family-owned and operated, privately held company with an outstanding philanthropic reputation.
The project will bring diversity to Spotsylvania's economy, in addition to significant convention and hotel space. We believe this will generate significant new revenues while demanding fewer services than other likely types of development on this site. This project will also boost tourism within Spotsylvania County and provide increased visitation to other tourism attractions.
This project will diversify the property tax base by bringing a new industry — the resort/convention business — to Spotsylvania. We expect this project to generate millions of dollars in annual revenue, and will provide jobs for varying experience levels including: full-time, salaried, part-time and hourly opportunities.
Kalahari will generate millions of dollars in annual revenue and bring hundreds of new jobs to Spotsylvania. A company like Kalahari is highly prized as a corporate citizen, making recruitment very competitive and incentives often necessary. The county has used incentives in the past to attract other highly desirable companies to Spotsylvania and has a proven track record of providing performance-based incentives to businesses that expand employment opportunities and the tax base. Examples are HDT Global, LIDL, the VA Hospital, the Knife Center, and the Spotsylvania Towne Centre Village.
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The TDFP is not an upfront incentive, is not a grant and is not part of a developers business loan. With TDFP, separate from county and state resources, Kalahari secures all the lending it needs to complete the project. It is Kalahari that secures their own primary and gap lending - neither the county nor the state are “lenders” or “gap lenders” in any capacity. Only after the project’s revenue begins will the county and state collect new taxes from the project. From these new tax revenues created by Kalahari, the county and state return (rebate) a portion of taxes collected which Kalahari will use to pay the independently-secured financing. Spotsylvania County has no liability for the financing.
The TDFP is a state program that requires state approval. The numbers presented to the board anticipate state approval, but since State approval is not guaranteed, the sales tax rebate was intentionally left out, therefore if it was not approved Spotsylvania would retain the sales tax. Since sales tax collected is generated by the performance of Kalahari, there is a possibility that Kalahari, will generate sales tax that could cover the amount needed for the TDFP contribution required prior to the end of the 20 year performance agreement. This translates into the potential for Spotsylvania to retain the 1% sales tax in the out lying years of the agreement, thereby creating a greater tax return than anticipated for Spotsylvania. Using the 1% local contribution leverages a 2% match by the Commonwealth and another 2% from the developer.
Philanthropic efforts are a high priority for Kalahari resorts and convention owners - the Nelson Family. The company supports various initiatives on a global, national and local scale in the markets in which they have property.
An overwhelming majority of workers will be local to the Spotsylvania County area.
Yes, Kalahari resorts and conventions has always hired local firms to work on the planning and construction of the resort, and is expected to do so here. They have a strong record of hiring local firms whenever possible.
Kalahari will be one of the largest projects ever constructed in this region. It will create hundreds of jobs during construction. They will have a positive impact on our local economy.
Yes. Upon completion of Kalahari in 2025, the county will have approximately 5.6 million gallons of drinking water capacity remaining for future growth.
It is estimated that Kalahari will have a demand of 229,000 gallons per day on the average day with a max day demand 413,000 gallons. After build-out of the project the system will still have 5.6 million gallons of excess capacity at the project flow rates. The company has an excellent water-recycling program already implemented in its other properties. Guests in the hotel rooms will consume the most water, but Kalahari has a strong record of implementing many water and energy conservation measures. Details of the resort’s projected daily water usage in other locations include: hotel rooms (47%); restaurants (19%); waterpark (19%); meeting space (6%); public space (6%); and retail shops (3%).
Most of our region’s traffic congestion occurs during peak times; e.g., rush hour. Kalahari’s traffic does not peak at any particular time of day, so it should not have much impact or contribute to traffic congestion during peak times.
Yes. There will be two entrances with turning lanes.
The developer will be paying for the entrance and turning lane improvements.
There are many factors that go into the valuation of residential property, including national, state and regional economic conditions, as well as neighboring development. The Spotsylvania County Commissioner of Revenue’s office compares a home to similar homes that have sold recently and determines the value accordingly. In other words, it is valued based on the sales of similar properties. Other considerations include age, size, condition and quality of construction of the home.