Well looks like there WILL be an amusement park coming to the Houston area (no, not a new Disney theme park) - a 250 acre dinosaur themed one! Earth Quest Adventures It's going to be a $600+ million, 250 acre full scale theme park with roller coasters and water rides. They have also changed the name from Dinosaur City to Earth Quest Adventures. It sounds like this park will be a combination museum of natural history, theme park, water park and hotel resort. The park is supposed to start construction in 2008 and open in 2011 or 12. The park is to be built near New Caney, TX in a heavily wooded pine forest, near Caney Creek." Link to message board that disccuses this Link to article by The Humble Observer Link to video article by Fox 26 Link to article by the Houston Business Journal Whoa, I'm stoked
Oh Nos! they gonna cut down the trees! Anyways, I LOVE dinosaur exhibits and museums so I'm really gonna love this! Too bad I don't really know if I'm gonna be around here then.
I'm Larry the scary rex, I'm a scary dinosaur, but dont be scared of my sharp sharp teeth and my mighty mighty roar!
This thread needs more Clifford! <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NF80c60COgE&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NF80c60COgE&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
LMAO I <3 Clifford! Whyyyyy do they have to make it ALL the way out there? Oh well, better than nothing I suppose.
Wait.... they're cutting down perfectly good trees for a... dinosaur theme park? Boo. Bring back Astroworld.
cheap land. remember that Astroworld closed down because the value of all that land exceeded the value of having an amusement park sitting on it. that shouldn't happen anytime soon in east Montgomery County.
Please God tell me that this won't be a theme park extolling the ideas of a 7,000-year-old Earth where human and dinosaur co-existed before the flood. Otherwise, it sounds pretty dope.
Actually, Astroworld closed down because it had become a hell-hole hangout for gangs and loitering teenagers doing nothing but taking up space all day. That's what happens when you start selling season tickets for $29 - parents drop their kids off there in the morning and pick them up in the evening, and they are not there doing anything, not spending any money, just roaming in groups, making the experience a terrible one for anyone trying to bring a family there for a good time. It's like that new place out by Willowbrook called 'IT'Z' .. I took my wife and kids there one Saturday evening, and we will never go back. It was terrible. Not because of the place, or the concept, or the entertainment product they are trying to provide, but simply because it was too packed with too many socially illiterate people and their hordes of equally graceless offspring. I am beginning to understand why people move to small towns...
Which is why we see soooo much development there right now. That excuse was B.S. I knew it then, and it has been proven.
They sold the land for $77 million http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2006/05/08/daily27.html And plans were circulated earlier this year about what they wanted to do with it: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/4484877.html AstroWorld site's transformation surges ahead Group seeks city designation to aid in acreage's development By NANCY SARNOFF Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle The investment group that bought the former AstroWorld site is moving forward with plans to redevelop the 104-acre property. Angel/McIver Interests is seeking the creation of a municipal management district for the site. The special district would help finance infrastructure, such as roads and drainage systems, as well as parking facilities, landscaping and security, according to Robert Randolph, an attorney working with the Conroe-based company that bought the acreage last summer. The investment group is planning a mixed-use transit-oriented development for the former theme park land. It would include high-density residential units, offices, shops and a hotel. The management district would sell bonds to build the facilities, as well as collect taxes, user fees, parking revenues and potentially levy special assessments on property owners to pay for the bonds. Part of the plan includes a proposal to reroute the light rail line through the property. A Metro spokeswoman said the Metropolitan Transit Authority has requested a proposal from Angel/McIver, but it has not yet received it. Management districts are meant to promote employment, economic development and public welfare in commercial areas. Other Houston-area districts include downtown, Uptown, Greenspoint, Upper Kirby, Westchase and the Energy Corridor. The Legislature approves the districts and initially appoints their boards. Angel/McIver could not be reached for comment. AstroWorld closed in 2005 after 37 years in business. Park attendance had been waning, while the value of the real estate had risen. Angel/McIver signed a contract last year to buy the site from Six Flags for $77 million. To be sure, the area has been in transformation. While there are still numerous industrial developments there, townhome builders have been adding new housing and investors have been snapping up parcels and betting on the area's future potential. Located just outside of the 610 Loop between Fannin and Kirby, the former AstroWorld site is near Reliant Park, the Texas Medical Center and Metro's light rail line.
Max: I'll believe it when I see it. The area has been an eyesore for two years. If it were that valuable, construction would've begun immediately. Look at the Midtown area for an example of how quickly things get built when it is valuable real estate.
Construction doesn't begin immediately, FFB. Not on projects of that scale. In may, there was an article that the company that bought the land was swallowing up surrounding properties as well. There's talk of a re-route of the light rail. You don't just start building on a project like that. But all of that is irrelevant. Six Flags said they were selling the land because it was too valuable. It's value was measured at the sale, which happened pretty quickly: $77 million.
I think you're both right. I think that Astroworld went so far down the toilet (and without a bright future) at a time that Six Flags needed cash, that they sold the property get the cash infusion (from a piece of property that was increasing in value) and, in the same transaction, cut this them park that was struggling.
True enough.. but if it had still been profitable, they wouldn't have sold it. Fact was, it had become the one thing that a family-oriented entertainment entity cannot become: the LAST place anyone with a family would ever dream of actually TAKING their family. It was 'Dead Man Walking' time for that place. Which is a shame, because it was such a part of so many peoples' memories, of growing up, of always having that 'carrot' dangled out there, that 'Trip to Astroworld' with whatever group you happened to be involved with. Heck, I worked there myself for a couple of summers, back in the early 80's. Man, I could tell some stories about that place... *sigh* But that's all gone now.
