MJP –
Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina shuttered a Six Flags theme park in New Orleans East, demolition is underway at the decaying complex of carnival rides and buildings that became a symbol of the storm’s enduring devastation.
New Orleans-based Smoot Construction was hired to lead the demolition and has started to dismantle the site’s many unsalvageable structures, developer Troy Henry said in an interview Monday. Henry said Bayou Phoenix, the development partnership through which he and others are advancing new plans for the land, will issue more updates at an event on Nov. 12.
“It’s a good thing. It’s a happy day,” Henry said Monday. “We’re excited about the progress, we’re happy to see the ball rolling.”
The demolition is the biggest step forward for the dilapidated former theme park in nearly two decades. Henry, a New Orleans East resident, has promised his neighbors and the general public an ambitious recreational development anchored by a youth sports complex, hotels and a film studio.
Bayou Phoenix’s sprawling master plan, which includes a waterpark and other amenities, is among the largest public-private partnerships in the city’s history — requiring not only demolition and clearing of dozens of structures, but also evaluation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of how much natural wetland now exists there.
The park never reopened after Aug. 29, 2005, when 7 feet of Katrina floodwaters engulfed its grounds and remained there for a month due to a drainage pump failure.
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It took four years after Katrina for City Hall to end its 75-year lease with Six Flags Inc. Big League Dreams of California and cable television giant Nickelodeon applied to redevelop the park, and City Hall tapped Nickelodeon. But the deal fell through when Nickelodeon cut ties with a local partner.
In 2011, New Orleans’ Industrial Development Board again sought developers, but a proposal for an outlet mall dissolved. Another round of developer requests in 2014 went nowhere.
Six years later, the board took proposals from firms looking to buy the property outright, but then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu held off on selling. His administration took charge of the redevelopment process instead.
As time went on, the property’s roughly 90 structures including roller coasters, carousels, French Quarter-style buildings, a theater, walking paths and small lakes became increasingly overrun by foliage, vultures and alligators. Film crews visited to shoot scenes of apocalypse among the decaying edifices and overgrowth.
The current, still-unrealized redevelopment push took shape under Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration.
Cantrell initially showed preference for a partnership headed up by NFL players, including New Orleans Saints stars Drew Brees and Demario Davis. But Bayou Phoenix rallied community support behind Henry, a well-known public figure and former mayoral candidate. Cantrell tapped Bayou Phoenix to redevelop the site in late 2021.
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At times, Bayou Phoenix has clashed with the city over the level of control officials should have over the plan. And they faced skepticism as to whether the roughly $1 billion proposal is actually possible, with Henry walking a careful line between showing confidence in his plan and overpromising to residents weary of getting their hopes up.
Bringing the park back into commerce would be a major achievement for Cantrell, whose second mayoral term has been mired in scandal and an ongoing federal investigation, as well as a victory for residents who pressed a series of mayoral administrations to bring more economic development to the East.
Her administration did not return a request for comment Monday.
Developers have reached an agreement with one of three “anchor tenants” for the proposed Bayou Phoenix development’s core projects, Henry said.
Henry declined to provide further details, but said talks are underway with potential tenants for the remaining two “anchor” projects. Developers hope to conclude those talks by year’s end, he said.
News that crews have begun demolition on the property was first reported by Axios New Orleans.
