SFNO/Jazzland Discussion Thread

This link contains links to RFPs for two proposed new amusement parks on site

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/03/two_ideas_for_amusement_parks.html

Two proposals to bring back Jazzland at Six Flags site; Which one do you like?

Katherine Sayre, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

March 28, 2014 at 3:44 PM

As city leaders look to rejuvenate the shuttered Six Flags site in eastern New Orleans, two groups of developers are pitching ideas for restoring the amusement park's beloved predecessor.

Jazzland, a New Orleans-themed, roller coaster park, was taken over by entertainment chain Six Flags in 2002. Some bemoaned the loss of local flavor with the handover. Three years later, Hurricane Katrina washed through, and the park was abandoned.

Six Flags locator map

The New Orleans Industrial Development Board now holds title to the 150-acres. In January, the board launched a search for a developer after plans for an outlet mall crumbled last year.

A selection committee has two proposals on the table, so far:

The Paidia Company, operating through subsidiary TPC-NOLA Inc., once again is proposing to resurrect a Jazzland. Paidia had made a similar proposal in 2011, only to be rebuffed by Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration early in the selection process. A $50 million initial phase to reconstruct the amusement park. Plans for a second phase include a $20 million music-themed water park called "Baritone Beach" along with development retail outlets in the future.

Transformation Village LLC submitted a wide-ranging, seven-phase plan that starts with building a Jazzland park, although the plan has no clear source of funding or cost estimate. Future phases of the development would include a water park called "Atlantis," a dome-shaped shopping center arranged by global continents, a 450-foot replica of Noah's Ark that houses an orchestra studio, a movie production lot, a resort-hotel complex and a facility for students studying hospitality.

The committee -- made up of Industrial Development Board Chairman Alan Philipson, members Justin Augustine and Edith Jones, Landrieu's economic development advisor Aimee Quirk and head of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority Jeff Hebert -- meets Tuesday at 1 p.m. at 1340 Poydras Ave. in the 21st flood conference room.

The committee is still accepting proposals.

Look through the two plans already submitted and tell us in the comments which one looks better to you -- and why.

The first one seems sensible...the second one seems like a total joke.

Transformation Village LLC submitted a wide-ranging, seven-phase plan that starts with building a Jazzland park, although the plan has no clear source of funding or cost estimate. Future phases of the development would include a water park called "Atlantis," a dome-shaped shopping center arranged by global continents, a 450-foot replica of Noah's Ark that houses an orchestra studio, a movie production lot, a resort-hotel complex and a facility for students studying hospitality.

If this concept was created by anyone else other than a fifteen year old with a pirated copy of RCT and a pile of used ACE News magazines, I will be stunned.

dt

Seven phase plans always make it to fruition.

Both plans still suffer from the same problem. They lack funding. Maybe now with the economy improving someone will pony up the money needed to get one of these projects off the ground.

I would think that a water park would be one of the first things you would want to build. Relatively inexpensive compared to rides, wouldn't take long to install and would be a source of revenue while you are building out the ride section.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/04/six_flags_redevelopment_commit_2.html

The years-long search for a developer for the abandoned Six Flags amusement park in eastern New Orleans remains an unfulfilled quest, for now.

 

A committee tasked with selecting a new project for the 150-acre site met Tuesday (April 1) to review two plans to revive a version of the park's roller-coaster predecessor, Jazzland.

 

The five-member panel, made up of members of the Industrial Development Board and Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration, was in consensus: The two ambitious plans on the table lack financial substance to move forward.

 

Alan Philipson, Industrial Development Board chairman who led the committee meeting, said the companies behind the proposals can return, if more firm finances are assembled to back their project.

 

"This committee has an obligation to the city, to the Industrial Development Board, to all of the citizens in this community, that we are not going to let ourselves sit down at a table and ink a deal that we're not comfortable the financial where with all is there," Philipson said. "Both of these proposals have come in here with absolutely no cash commitment."

 

The committee has two proposals under consideration:

 

The Paidia Company, operating through subsidiary TPC-NOLA Inc., once again is proposing to resurrect Jazzland. Paidia had made a similar proposal in 2011, but was rebuffed by Landrieu's administration early in the selection process. The proposal includes a $50 million initial phase to reconstruct the amusement park. Plans for a second phase include a $20 million music-themed water park called "Baritone Beach" along with development retail outlets in the future.

 

Transformation Village LLC submitted a wide-ranging, seven-phase plan that starts with building a Jazzland park, although the plan has no clear source of funding or cost estimate. Future phases of the development would include a water park called "Atlantis," a dome-shaped shopping center arranged by global continents, a 450-foot replica of Noah's Ark that houses an orchestra studio, a movie production lot, a resort-hotel complex and a facility for students studying hospitality.

 

The deteriorating park has been largely untouched since Hurricane Katrina, although movie productions sometimes use the area. The park was once known as Jazzland, but the entertainment chain Six Flags bought the roller coaster haven in 2002. The new owner did not return after the storm.

 

In 2012, the city attracted a possible outlet mall development at the site, but the plans crumbled last year. Provident Realty Advisors and DAG Development were chosen to build a 400,000-square-foot, $70 million shopping mall, and the joint venture signed a two-year temporary lease agreement for exclusive rights to develop the land.

 

When a Riverwalk outlet mall project moved forward, developers for the Six Flags site walked away from their plans, arguing the New Orleans area market couldn't support two outlet malls.

 

In response to the committee's concerns on Tuesday, the leaders of both development groups suggested that it will be difficult to get investors fully committed without a preliminary agreement with the city.

 

Both groups said they would be returning to the Industrial Development Board with more financial information to keep their proposals alive.

 

"You cannot get the full funding for a project like this until you get a deal, because that's the way the credit markets work," Tanya Pope, head of the TPC-NOLA Jazzland proposal, told the committee.

 

This was the second time TPC-NOLA developers appeared before the committee after making an initial presentation last month.

 

Meanwhile, Transformation Village developers heard their first feedback from the committee, even bringing a Lego model of their proposed dome-shaped, global-themed shopping mall with miniature flags and poles. The proposal says with all phases of the project, including the amusement and water parks, shopping mall and a recording studio inside the Noah's Ark structure, the development could pull in $80 million a year in revenues.

 

They propose funding half of the development with foreign investments through a federal immigrant investor program, known as EB-5, along with private equity, tax incentives and public bonds. The sources of those funding streams were unclear.

 

Committee member Justin Augustine, an Industrial Development Board member, said he is seeing creativity but questionable financial capacity and experience from the would-be developers.

 

"I see a lot of concepts," Augustine said. "I don't see any meat on the bone."

 

Jeff Hebert, head of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and a committee member, agreed: "This is too big of a project, too massive of a development project, to not have meat on the bones," he said.

 

"It's ridiculous that a project this big would have such a lack of detail," Hebert added.

 

Frank Scurlock with Transformation Village said he will go back to their "investment pool" ask for an investor to partner with them in bringing more information to the city.

 

Another committee member, Aimee Quirk, Landrieu's economic development adviser, said economic development leaders continue to promote the site to potential developers, including at an upcoming conference of the International Council of Shopping Centers. She said there are already indications that other proposals will be submitted.

 

When launching the selection process in January, the committee said it would accept proposals on a rolling basis with no firm deadline.

 

As of Tuesday, no other proposals were under consideration.

Hey everyone! I just recently read on Screamscape about the proposed idea of Jazzland to move into SFNO place. Will it follow through? I doubt it would due to the fact that it was swallowed by a hurricane so practically everything is ruined.

I would be cool to do that though. I mean KK will likely turn out pretty awesome, right?

I'm not sure where you're getting your information from as Screamscape have reported that the project has been turned down:

The New Orleans committee in charge of finding a new use for the former Six Flags New Orleans theme park site has now turned away the two latest plans to revive the site, including the Jazzland revival park project from Paidia and a second plan submitted to also revive the park from Transformation Village LLC. They felt both projects lacked the financial backing to proceed at this time, but were welcome back if they could prove they had their financing in hand and ready to proceed.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information from as Screamscape have reported that the project has been turned down:

 

The New Orleans committee in charge of finding a new use for the former Six Flags New Orleans theme park site has now turned away the two latest plans to revive the site, including the Jazzland revival park project from Paidia and a second plan submitted to also revive the park from Transformation Village LLC. They felt both projects lacked the financial backing to proceed at this time, but were welcome back if they could prove they had their financing in hand and ready to proceed.

Oh... Thanks for the info! It would've been cool if it followed through!!!

I don't know where Screamscape was getting their info from, but the Jazzland proposal has not yet been turned down. They were asked to submit more details as far as their project is concerned, and they have been waiting for the board to meet up again and give them a definite answer. They have a Facebook page titled "Jazzland Park" where they post all of the updates on the status of their proposal. I'll continue to update this thread whenever they post anything newsworthy.

It's been 9 years since Hurricane Katrina hit. I wonder when TPC-NOLA will get full funding because I really, really liked that proposal. Here's a link to a recent news report: http://www.fox8live.com/clip/10518435/9-years-after-katrina-six-flags-remains-dormant?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I don't know what to make of it. The plan may look good on paper, but just as you can draw optical illusions that cannot exist in real life, perhaps the reality of making this park coming back to life could also be an illusion as well ( more like a delusion - the belief in something that may or may not be true). Still, as a hopeless optimistic, I think something could rise from these ashes, but it'll take lots of planning, lots of financing, lots of hard work and determination, and good fortunes in order to turn this into a reality.

"Just think positive thoughts; remember that Kentucky Kingdom rose from its ashes, so I'm sure that Jazzland could do the same."

"Ha! When that happens, then I'll open a ski resort."

"Okay, I get my skies all waxed up. I don't think I'll have to wait that long.

"Aww, kiss my !!!

As much as I would like for them to be successful in reviving this park, there is a very BIG difference between Jazzland and Kentucky Kingdom. Kentucky Kingdom had a proven track record of success under Hart's management, Jazzland has not. Kentucky Kingdom was shut down for 4 years, Jazzland has been closed for 9 years. Kentucky Kingdom was shut down due to a combination of reasons (disputes with the Fair Board, a rough economy, declining attendance), Jazzland was closed because Katrina destroyed it and its attendance did not justify the reinvestment. Kentucky Kingdom had its previous management working to bring it back and he had to fight tooth and nail to succeed, Jazzland has a lot a questionable bidders that have turned up with nothing. Kentucky Kingdom did have to fix quite a few things, even costing more than what Hart initially thought, as for Jazzland...I don't know if anything can be salvaged at this point.

I'm sorry but I think they would do better just to let this one go and IF they want to try again, start fresh and do it right this time: in the French Quarters, have people with a long track record initiate it, don't use cheap clones that you can find anywhere (Boomerang, Wild Mouse) and built a noteworthy wooden coaster. They only thing I wish could have been salvaged is the dark ride "Jocco's Mardi Gras Madness" as that was about the only thing unique to the park. This said, I hope to be proven wrong.

Honestly, I don't think it really matters where you try and put a park in New Orleans, tourist don't go to New Orleans for an amusement park. It's very much like Hard Rock Park being located in Myrtle Beach, people didn't go to Myrtle Beach to go to an amusement park. If they were to build one, I think it would have to take on an edgy persona, much like the one you would find on the French Quarter, but that limits who you're attracting to the park. The best bet in this situation would be to get outside of New Orleans and find good location near a major interstate. I would then build a combo park with a decent sized waterpark to sustain business and allow me to expand accordingly. I would market this park to the families of Louisiana, and wouldn't even worry about trying to draw the tourist crowd.

^ & ^^ Those post are spot on why bringing back the park will never happen.

New Orleans can support something like Fun Spot for the locals...but definitely not major theme park.

10 years later, its still there.

On August 19, 2005... A hurricane hit New Orleans and caused major flooding all over the area,causing loss of jobs, deaths, and the abandonment Six Flags New Orleans. Please respect to those who were affected by this disaster and those who did not make it out.

First off I pray everyone in Kat's way remains safe and sound. I hold no ill will to anyone. (Except my first fiance', and she lives in Nashville. So... DEATH TO HER! And if she ever reads this. I have an awesome wife (Who's Hot! Like pornstar HOT!) and TWO BEAUTIFUL Soopergenious kids. So in your face B****!!! Stand me up! FU!!!)

 

With that said...

 

I hate to say this, but the Six Flags Board are probably hoping the park does get destroyed. That way they can write the whole thing off to insurance. Leave it as scrap. And sell off the land.

 

Guy "Stay safe and dry gulf coast. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Except KRISTINE L*** C***** whom I hope dies. Painfully!" Koepp

 

Sorry if I offended anyone. Except KLC. I'm still a litte pissed.

Just thought I would resurrect this little gem of a post. Just laughed my butt off over this.

On August 19, 2005... A hurricane hit New Orleans and caused major flooding all over the area,causing loss of jobs, deaths, and the abandonment Six Flags New Orleans. Please respect to those who were affected by this disaster and those who did not make it out.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans August 29, 2005.

Aside from that did you really need to create a separate thread to make your statement?

Are you going to talk about the Park, or the Hurricane? Because my disaster that really upset me, & broke my Heart was Astroworld, & I still feel that way!

My reaction seeing this thread alive -

On August 19, 2005... A hurricane hit New Orleans and caused major flooding all over the area,causing loss of jobs, deaths, and the abandonment Six Flags New Orleans. Please respect to those who were affected by this disaster and those who did not make it out.

 

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans August 29, 2005.

 

Aside from that did you really need to create a separate thread to make your statement?

How is this a 10 year anniversary?

it's Feb 25th 2015 now. . so still ~6months away.

I saw the bump and thought this was a new thread and they finally settled the insurance on this place and were nuking it. I love all the urban explorer photos/videos from this park.

Oh, and I totally got all the credits here before Katrina!

On August 19, 2005... A hurricane hit New Orleans and caused major flooding all over the area,causing loss of jobs, deaths, and the abandonment Six Flags New Orleans. Please respect to those who were affected by this disaster and those who did not make it out.

 

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans August 29, 2005.

 

Aside from that did you really need to create a separate thread to make your statement?

 

How is this a 10 year anniversary?

 

it's Feb 25th 2015 now. . so still ~6months away.

Don't quote me....I just corrected thatGuyfrom Tennesee's error on the date. LOL

He had started a new thread "aka: Re: Six Flags New Orleans - 10 Years since Death." so a moderator combined the threads.

In any case, the park needs to be torn down.