NEW ORLEANS — The developers who bought the old Six Flags said they're getting closer redevelopment. According to Bayou Phoenix, they're just waiting to get their hands on the lease, so they can access the site.
Six Flags New Orleans has sat abandoned since Hurricane Katrina, but finally Bayou Phoenix is expecting to have access to property by the end of the month. A property which hasn't been touched in 18 years.
Troy Henry with Bayou Phoenix said they presented their master plan to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority earlier this year. NORA had questions but this week approved the master plan. Henry says now they're just waiting for all the right people to sign off on the lease, and the property will be theirs.
Henry said, "It gives us the authority to enter into agreements with contractors, operators, financers, the major partners that have to make this transformational project a reality."
The plan for the massive 227-acre site, includes a water park, athletic facilities, hotels and a movie studio. According to our partners at Nola.com Bayou Phoenix expects 20% of the total cost to come from city, state and federal sources. Which could mean at least $100 million in taxpayer funding.
Councilman Oliver Thomas said, "If they complete their master plan there won't be anything like it within a five-or six-hour drive, wonderful assets for the region, wonderful assets for the city."
He went on to say, "Last year we put a million and five in the budget to start cleaning up and mitigating some of the debris and some of the rides and stuff that we need to move out the way."
Councilman Thomas said the lease approval is a step in the right direction for not just the city, but the residents of New Orleans East.
"I am sick of New Orleans, and I am sick of the conversations about what we want to do and what we're gunna do. We have to start showing our citizens what we did and what's being done," said the Councilman.
Henry said demolition could begin at the end of the year.
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