The Bradley Village Board is cranking up the momentum on the Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterpark, voting to bring in a pre-construction manager and signing off on an initial contract as the village eyes a summer groundbreaking. The sprawling complex, planned just southeast of the Northfield Square mall, is estimated at roughly $90 million to $100 million and is targeting a spring 2028 opening.
In a unanimous vote at Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, trustees approved hiring ARCO/Murray to oversee the pre-construction phase, as reported by Shaw Local. The village’s first contract with the firm comes in at $100,000, and officials said ARCO/Murray could be considered for the full construction-management role once shovels actually hit the dirt.
What ARCO/Murray Brings
According to ARCO/Murray, the firm operates multiple Chicagoland offices, including an expanded Downers Grove campus, and lists a wide portfolio of commercial and entertainment projects. Bradley leaders said that local staffing depth and prior experience with large builds were big factors in choosing a single-source design builder to guide the pre-construction work on the project.
Nebraska Project Offers A Playbook
Developers and village officials are looking west for clues on what is coming next. Local coverage of the Bellevue, Neb., Mattel Wonder site says that park is already in development and is expected to open in 2027 with features such as a retractable roof. That project involves many of the same vendors and designers now linked to the Mattel Wonder brand, giving Bradley officials a real-world reference point as they move from planning into breaking ground.
Price Tag, Timeline And Next Steps
Bradley’s mayor has said the full complex is estimated at about $90 million to $100 million and that ARCO/Murray’s first $100,000 contract represents only a fraction of future spending, according to Shaw Local. Two weeks earlier, the village added Orlando-based Martin Aquatic to oversee the park’s “wet portion,” and that firm is one of the partners Mattel named in its national rollout announcement for Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterparks. Mattel has said Martin Aquatic, American Resort Management and others will handle design and operations across the brand.
Village officials told Shaw Local they expect to have a construction manager signed by June or July and said management fees would likely run near 4 percent of the ultimate construction price. For residents, the next visible signs will be permitting and early site work; if the timeline holds, crews could be breaking ground this summer and pushing ahead on a multiuse Mattel waterpark that developers hope will boost regional tourism and hotel demand.
