Cisco wants to build $35 million lake resort
By Kathy Edwards
Special to the Reporter-News
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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Cisco community leaders still hope to move forward with plans for developing a $35 million resort at Lake Cisco.
Although the Hilton Hotels Corp. apparently has declined to become involved in the project, a newly created committee of area residents will meet Sept. 16 to discuss the project's future.
More than a year ago, Cisco Mayor Hal Porter and an interested group of residents put together a striking vision for their city's revitalization.
They wanted to partner with the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Hilton Hotels Corp. to develop a 100-room hotel and resort with attractions that include a water park at the historic swimming pool at Lake Cisco, an expanded golf course and a rodeo arena.
The historic pool, once billed as the largest outdoor concrete swimming pool, closed in 1974 after 46 years. The dam at the lake (once open to the public) helped the school's football team earn the nickname "Big Dam Loboes." The city has been trying to find new uses for the pool area.
The latest venture was called the Hilton Heritage Resort, said Porter, who is also the Cisco schools superintendent. He said the city of Cisco, in concert with the Cisco Development Corp., has investigated the possibility of developing the area around Lake Cisco into a resort.
Porter said the Cisco Development Corp. assisted with the process of hiring a consultant to do a feasibility study, which cost $17,000. CADCO architectural firm out of Abilene drew up the designs.
Armed with the plans and a study, the Cisco group approached the Hilton Hotels Corp. because Cisco was the home of Conrad Hilton's first hotel, which is a now a historic landmark. But the Hilton representatives didn't warm to the proposal.
"Unfortunately, the corporation did not take into account the attractions we planned to develop that are unique to Cisco when they looked at the proposal," Porter said.
The consultant suggested that Cisco, a city of 3,800 people, narrow the scope of its development plan, but proponents have not backed down from their revitalization effort.
"The community is excited about this. There is so much history around Cisco to build on, but we will need a major partner to get the project developed," said Don Henry, chairman of the Cisco Economic Development Board. "We will offer in-kind incentives such as land for the project and tax relief."
The mayor has appointed 21 people, including himself, to the newly created Parks Special Study Committee to continue exploring the project. The committee will meet in its first called meeting at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Davis Learning Resource Center at Cisco Elementary School, 503 W. 11th St.
