New Orleans looks at 8 proposals to revive shuttered Six Flags amusement park site

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New Orleans looks at 8 proposals to revive shuttered Six Flags amusement park site
November 22, 2011
Jaquetta White
The Times-Picayune

The long-stalled effort to redevelop the former Six Flags amusement park began moving again Monday as city officials began reviewing bids to transform the neglected tract in eastern New Orleans.
six-flags-aerial.jpgDavid Grunfeld, Times-Picayune archiveEight entrepreneurs have stepped forward to suggest turning the former Six Flags park, destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, into everything from a power plant to an outlet mall.

After a call in April for proposals to redevelop the 150-acre site, eight entrepreneurs have stepped forward to suggest turning the property into everything from a power plant to an outlet mall.

The bids will be ranked next week and no more than five projects will move forward to another round that could include formal presentations and interviews, said Aimee Quirk, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's economic development adviser and a member of the five-person committee that will review and vote on the bids.

The eight bidders and their proposed projects, as described by Quirk, are:

Louisiana Heritage Resort BP: 200-plus-acre resort with nine "theme lands" and 20 acres of sound stages.
RCS Entertainment Inc.: Crescent City Amusement Park, a green amusement park.
Dag Development and Provident: outlet mall with a boardwalk entertainment district.
Packaert LLC: electric power generation plant.
The Paida Company: water park and back lot for the film industry.
JWM Ventures: resort with theme park, water park and sports complex.
Powell Commodity Inc.: commercial retail and family entertainment venue with theme park.
A business coalition led by Al Philips: eco park focusing on green usages of water and green construction.

The committee -- which also includes Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff Judy Reese Morse, Chief Executive Officer of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority Justin Augustine, the mayor's adviser on the Cultural Economy Scott Hutcheson and Deputy Mayor of Facilities, Infrastructure and Community Development Cedric Grant -- will evaluate the proposals based on their ability to meet six criteria: company quality and performance history, financial capacity, financial feasibility, return on investment, development plan and commitment to working with disadvantaged business enterprises. Augustine is on the committee as a representative of the Industrial Development Board, the city agency that owns the former theme park site.
map-sixflags-112211.jpgView full size

Because the proposals vary so vastly in scope, it will be difficult to compare them based on what each intends to build, Grant said. Instead, he believes the decision will come down to which one will be the best investment.

"It will be difficult to compare apples to apples," Grant said. "So it's very important that we look at financials and return on investment."

The city of New Orleans has controlled the shuttered property since December 2009 when a Delaware court presiding over the bankruptcy of Six Flags Inc. agreed to allow the theme park operator to terminate its lease in exchange for cash payments to the city. Six Flags did not reopen the storm-marred park following Hurricane Katrina.

In early 2009, before the bankruptcy settlement, the city, under then-Mayor Ray Nagin, publicly supported one suitor for the site, Southern Star Amusement. The company had proposed refurbishing the rides at the park and partnering with Nickelodeon to create a theme park branded with the cable giant's name. But Southern Star Amusement was never able to produce financing for the deal and its relationship with Nickelodeon ended just three months after it was announced.

Former Councilman Arnie Fielkow also courted a developer for the site. Fielkow had proposed allowing Big League Dreams, a California company, to turn the site into a multimillion-dollar, multistadium operation that would host everyone from little leaguers to adults who once dreamed of being professional athletes. But the plan fizzled.

Since the bankruptcy settlement, there has been almost no public interest in the site. In April 2010, Minnesota firm 3 Wise Men Entertainment Inc. said it wanted to build a water park and additional theme rides, but canceled its meeting with the Industrial Development Board.

Late last year, the city had to shoot down rumors that the park would be bulldozed after a video, shot inside the shuttered theme park, said park rides were to be dismantled and the park demolished in January.

Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans, who attended Monday's meeting and whose district includes the site, expressed frustration that the process has dragged on for so long. Badon said he attended Monday's meeting hoping that the committee would vote on their favorite proposals and was disappointed that action was tabled for a meeting next week.

"I expected more. We sat in there for 30 minutes to say let's meet again next week." Badon said. "Let's get some pilings in the ground. People just don't want to hear about meeting after meeting."

Also on Monday, a separate, but related, committee considered what to do with the rides and equipment at the park should the redevelopment decision require that they be removed. The city is proposing to sell the material at auction. After reviewing proposals from two auction houses, Vicari Auction of Harvey and GovDeals.com, the committee voted to move forward with contract negotiations with Vicari. Vicari's bid package will be compared against the city's current contract with auctioneer Property Room, before a winner is selected at another meeting.