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Former Big Surf water park in Tempe will be an industrial park

Big Surf Waterpark
Jean Clare Sarmiento/KJZZ
Big Surf Waterpark on McClintock Road just north of the Red Mountain Loop 202 opened in 1969, and its wave pool was one of the first of its kind.

The site of former Tempe water park Big Surf will now serve as the site of a large industrial park.

Big Surf, the park on McClintock Road just north of the Red Mountain Loop 202, first opened in 1969, but closed its doors when the pandemic began and never re-opened. Following the closure multiple items from the site were auctioned off.

In 2022, Overton Moore Properties bought the waterpark site for more than $49 million.

Their project on the site will feature three industrial buildings totaling 689,000 square feet.

Known as Nextwave Tempe, construction is already underway, with the expectation to open later this year.

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Ignacio Ventura is a reporter for KJZZ. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in news media and society.