 |
 |  |
 | |||||
 |
 |
 |
 | |||||
Sauk County catches a development waveBy Jeanne Wieland
Sauk County is a popular draw for people looking to build a new home, but hundreds of thousands of people each year visit the area for another reason — to enjoy some of the best vacation spots in the state. And at one of those spots, Great Wolf Lodge in Lake Delton, visitors can experience the thrill of an extreme water-tubing ride called Howlin' Tornado, the only one of its kind in the world. Howlin' Tornado, a $3 million, six-story, enclosed giant water funnel, gives people the chance to ride through the eye of a storm, dropping 30 feet every second. Construction of the ride began in spring 2004, and it opened for the first daredevils to test it out in late November. Eric Lund, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Great Wolf Lodge, said construction presented unique challenges.
"There are 11 of these tornado rides around the world, but ours is the only one that is enclosed so it can be used year-round," Lund said. "We had to figure out the best way to apply the cover. It had to withstand the weather elements yet hold the heat in." The giant tornado was manufactured by ProSlide of Ontario and constructed by Water Technology Inc., Beaver Dam, and Kraemer Brothers LLC, Plain. The builders also had to construct a heated, enclosed stairwell to lead riders to the top of the funnel for the plunge down. In addition, Great Wolf Lodge doubled the size of its outdoor waterpark last summer and is building new condominiums that will be ready for occupants by mid-July. Kraemer Brothers is building the condos, which will feature 64 three-bedroom units of about 2,500 square feet each that can be separated into 128 different rooms and can be made available for rental. The Wisconsin Dells area of Sauk County continues to be a hot spot for construction in the county, said Lance Gurney, the county's director of planning and zoning, but other projects are keeping crews busy as well.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is expanding Highway 12 between Madison and Sauk City from two lanes to four. The project, which is about 70 percent complete, will be finished in 2005, Gurney said. And thanks to a joint planning effort that involved 11 area communities, once Highway 12 gets completed, Sauk County will be in a great position to direct growth, he added. "The decision was made to go forward with this road project in 1999," Gurney said. "Since then, there's been an increase in residential development." Large subdivisions are going in around Prairie du Sac and Baraboo, he said, as well as on Lake Wisconsin. Schluter Construc-tion Inc., Plain, is developing on the lake an 84-unit site that used to house trailer houses on little lots. Everything was torn out, and Schluter is remaking the area into upscale single-family houses. Every lot will have a boat slip, and the developers also set open land aside for trails, Gurney said. The project, called Lakeview Estates, features innovative storm-water-management technologies, Gurney said, including rain gardens planted in the road ditches to help absorb excess water. "The development is beautiful," Gurney said. "There was a lot of old oak forest canopy they were able to preserve there." The abundant natural resources of the Sauk County
area are definitely attracting new residents, Gurney said, which made 2004 a banner
year for new home "The diversity of the natural area, huge tracts of wooded acres, pristine streams — that's why we're starting to see a housing boom," he said.
| Story Index | Wisconsin Builder | DailyReporter.com | © 2005 Daily Reporter Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.
| ||||||||
