Pflugerville Community Development Corp. and Pflugerville City Council approved resolutions Nov. 18 allowing the PCDC to loan Hawaiian Falls Water and Adventure Park an additional $1.5 million for increased construction costs.

The loan increase brings the maximum principal amount of the loan secured by the PCDC to $25 million. Floyd Akers, PCDC executive director, said the additional money is needed because of the high construction costs in the Austin area.

"It is mainly due to the increased cost of building," Akers said Nov. 18 at a PCDC meeting. "There will be no pass-through to the taxpayer."

Capital One loaned the money to the PCDC for the construction of the park, city documents state.

Hawaiian Falls pays the PCDC's loan off in monthly installments, and Pflugerville taxpayers are not impacted, according to a PCDC news release.

"The project went approximately seven percent over budget, which is not significant," Akers said in a prepared statement. "Most developments in today's economy exceed their original estimates due to unpredictable construction costs."

Akers said the loan is secured by the PCDC because the PCDC owns the water park. Hawaiian Falls built the park and leases it. The amount of the loan has increased, and Hawaiian Falls will pay for that increase as part of its monthly lease payments, Akers said.

"It is the city's asset. It is the citizen's asset, not Hawaiian Falls' asset," Akers said.

Hawaiian Falls has a 30-year contract with the PCDC to operate the water park, Akers said.

Evan Barnett, general manager at Hawaiian Falls Pflugerville, said construction labor and the short timeline for the project contributed to the increased cost.

"We also made more premium product than we originally intended that will not only start new jobs for the community but service the community in a fashion that we believe is going to be a huge asset for family fun," Barnett said.

Those premium products include an improved facade, a premium event center, upgraded birthday rooms, improved pool linings and upgraded zip lines, Barnett said.

The PCDC loaned the water park $23.5 million in early 2014 for construction of the water park. The water park opened June 9.