Multimillion-dollar, 1,200-foot lazy river being installed in west Houston

>>Click to see another aerial view. A 1,200-foot lazy river is being installed at Houston's Westside Tennis and Fitness club, 12 Wilcrest Dr. >>Click to see another aerial view. A 1,200-foot lazy river is being installed at Houston's Westside Tennis and Fitness club, 12 Wilcrest Dr. Photo: Linda McIngvale Photo: Linda McIngvale Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Multimillion-dollar, 1,200-foot lazy river being installed in west Houston 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Houston's Westside Tennis Club has long been known for its sports facilities, but it's gearing up to become a resort-style family destination by next summer.

The establishment, located at 1200 Wilcrest Dr., has in recent years shifted toward becoming more of a recreational institution with diverse amenities, rather than a mere athletic attraction. It's even recently become a makeshift zoo in the form of a small habitat for giraffes and flamingos.

Currently underway is a project that might be the club's most ambitious to date.

The tennis stadium that was originally installed for competitions will become the site of a four-acre water park with a 1,200-foot lazy river.

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Westside Tennis Club CEO Linda McIngvale, who is married to Gallery Furniture owner Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, says her goal is to create a place where families can enjoy a wider range of activities.

"In 2007 we discontinued our professional tennis tournaments and began thinking of what we would do with that area," she explains. "Over time, we decided the stadium would need to be removed and believed this new water addition would be great for our membership base."

The 600,000-gallon winding waterway will offer guests an eight-minute ride around the "island," an expanse that will include three slides. Among those will be the 166-foot "HighFly," as well as a steep 113-foot drop slide. Part of the lazy river will be the "Action River" which will be more pressurized to propel daring floaters through the channel more quickly. It will also have a swim-up bar and poolside lounge for adults.

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The installation team for the project includes Progressive Commercial Aquatics and H2O Design.

"We are looking forward to having this project complete by the start of the summer and will add to our already three pools and other amenities we have at Westside," McIngvale said.

In addition to the mammoth water feature, the park will also be home to a small collection of exotic animals who already reside at the Westside club.

Among the animals the McIngvales currently house at Westside are giraffes, flamingos, an African serval cat, black-neck swans, tortoises several fish. Some, but not all, will move next door to the upcoming aquatic attraction.

"We love animals and are very protective of animals," McIngvale told Chron.com in October, adding that they were also attempting to adopt a Eurasian lynx. "We will keep them as long as we can, but if we can find a better home for them then they will move on to those facilities."

The entire water park, including the zoo-like setup and lazy river, are expected to be completed and open by summer 2017.