NEW ORLEANS — On Oct. 25, developer Bayou Phoenix officially took control of the 227-acre site of the former Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans East. The lease signing ceremony inspired cheers and applause from stakeholders during a meeting of the World Waterpark Association at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Now comes the hard part: raising a half billion dollars and signing big name tenants that can help convert the long-abandoned theme park into a collection of attractions that could include a water park, a youth sports facility, two hotels, an 8.5-acre man made lake, a movie studio, an amphitheater and retail outlets.
The property was flooded during Hurricane Katrina and has been abandoned ever since, except for its occasional use as a backdrop for movies and TV shows such as 2013’s “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” or “Project Power” in 2020.
Bayou Phoenix founder Troy Henry, who is partnered with construction company owner Thomas Tubre on the project, said he hasn’t secured funding or partners to operate the attractions, but that work can begin in earnest now that the lease is signed.
“We are pleased after 30-plus months of pursuit to finally be able to get started on this transformational project,” Henry told Biz New Orleans.
The next step is to clean out the site, removing destroyed rides along the way, and to get to know the property better in the process.
City, state and federal sources are expected to contribute $100 million toward the development. The balance will come from private investors and loans.
The 50-year lease with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, which owns the land, includes development milestones. Bayou Phoenix, for instance, must have a sublease in place with an operator for at least one component of the project by Oct. 25, 2024.
Bayou Phoenix was selected to pursue the project in 2021 after a development group that included Drew Brees withdrew from the application process. Its annual rent is $1 a year, but the company estimates it will spend several million dollars just getting the project off the the ground.
