Waterpark in Woonsocket? It Might Happen

WOONSOCKET, RI—A company raising money and promoting its plan to open a waterpark in Rhode Island is reportedly in talks with Woonsocket’s mayor to find a suitable location.

Cascade Water Park LLC, which plans to open what they’re currently calling Rhode Island Water Park, said in a post on its Facebook page on Thursday that Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt “made us aware of locations in her city that supply us everything we need to develop a successful water park.”

The sites, which aren’t official yet, have “exceptional” access to major highways, according to the post, and easily reached by Interstates 95, 25, 495 and Routes 146 and 99.

The developers first proposed a park in Johnston off Interstate 295 in 2014 but were met with resistance.

One of the key figures behind the plan, David Cascioli, is a former manager of Rocky Point Park and has been exploring possible sites in Pawtucket, Warwick, Cranston and other sites for months.

At the same time, a crowdfunding campaign was launched in an effort to drum up funding to pay for the engineering and site work required to draft formal plans.

Plans posted on an IndieGoGo page depict a modestly-sized facility with 12 slides, a children’s area, a 20,000 square-foot wave pool and a “lazy river”.

The developers indicate that the Woonsocket location is ideal because it’s close enough to draw visitors from nearby Massachusetts as well as becoming a potential must-visit Rhode Island destination.

While many dream of a reborn Rocky Point for Rhode Islanders to embrace, there are plenty of hurdles.

The crowdfunding campaign has raised a lackluster $127 of its $100,000 goal as of Friday. And Woonsocket residents will want to weigh in on the proposal, and there will be skeptics, including some who peppered the company with questions and comments on its Facebook pages. Others expressed excitement and optimism, noting that Woonsocket needs as much economic development as it can get.

Cascioli and his team are eyeing a 2018 opening and said that an exact location will be announced soon.