That is the basic theme of the new dinosaur park that is slated to be built in East Montgomery County. At this time, the latest name given to the park is Earth Quest Adventures.
When Astroworld shut down a few years ago, it left the children in Houston and surrounding areas such as EMC, Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita and Spring without an amusement park to visit during spring breaks and summer vacations.
With the new dinosaur park, parents will not have to travel to Dallas and San Antonio for a fun vacation, which will keep all economic revenue in the area.
"The dinosaur park, a $500 million project, will be built in East Montgomery County with the intention of having a dinosaur museum for children and adults to learn about the animals, a theme park consisting of roller coasters and water rides and a thematic hotel and spa that will be built within the park.
This project is designed to keep families, along with economic revenue, in the Houston market," said Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District. The dinosaur park was the topic of discussion at the Rotary Club of Humble Intercontinental.
East Montgomery County was chosen as the site for this multi-million dollar project out of approximately 64 communities around the country. The improvement district as well as other members of the community has worked closely with state representatives and senators to get a bill passed in the recent state Legislature. That effort was successful and the bill, HB 4015, is currently on the governor's desk waiting to be signed. It is projected that this 150-acre site will attract more than two and a half million people and will create 2,700 jobs in the area, with 30,000 jobs just for the construction phase. The economic revenue from this project will not only benefit EMC, it will also impact Humble and other surrounding communities.
"A portion of the preliminary layout of the project will consist of dinosaurs in the front of the park. They will be stationary during the day and at night they will put on a little show. It will be located north of Highway 59 over FM 1485 near the Caney Creek Bridge," McCrady said.
Construction on the Earth Quest Adventures dinosaur park is scheduled to begin in 2008 and be completed by 2011, but no later than 2012. The dinosaur museum will be created by "Dino" Don Lessem, a paleontologist who was an advisor to the "Jurassic Park" film.
For more information on the project, contact EMCID at 281-354-4419.
rbastian@hcnonline.com©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2007
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Dinosaur park planned for East Montgomery County
By Melecio C. Franco - 11/9/06
The facility will feature a 110,000-square-foot exhibit hall and dinosaur display, an IMAX theater, a water recreation park, hotel and convention center. Leading theme park designers, one of Germany's leading zoo directors, robotics and special effects experts are all involved in the planning for the facility.
The park is expected to attract more than a million visitors each year.
"It's going to be a nice project," said McCrady. "It can truly define our area in the future as far as travel and tourism."
The facility is the concept of the dinosaur expert known as "Dino" Don Lessem, an author of 47 books on dinosaurs and advisor to Universal Studios' Jurassic Park, Walt Disney Company and Animal Kingdom dinosaur attractions.
"It will have the largest dinosaur educational facility in the world," said Lessem. "I dug up the biggest dinosaurs and they need a place to live."
Construction of the facility will be a five-year project, according to McCrady. The first phase is a $200,000 site study paid for by the improvement district to analyze the property, which is located north of Caney Creek on the west side of U.S. Highway 59 North.
"We'll partner with the state for additional financial needs," said McCrady. "It's a regional attraction not just a state attraction. A lot of people will come from out of state. It's a win for our area and a win for Texas, as well."
The park is expected to create 500 to 1,000 jobs, according to McCrady.
New Caney beat Dallas as the final location for the facility, according to Lessem.
"I liked the look of the community," he said. "The land was completely undeveloped. We want to celebrate nature. This is not a theme park. This is something that hasn't been done before. We want to keep it as pristine as we can."
Lessem wants the facility to have allied programs with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Zoo and have mobile exhibits. Live exotic animals will also be included at the park. Other projects at the facility will include educational outreach tours and field trips.
Lessem also hopes to create a university affiliation with one of the Texas universities and create a nonprofit foundation to help generate revenue to fund dinosaur research.
"We want to steer a bit of revenue towards education," he said.
Lessem explained that the dinosaur park is one way to get children interested in science.
"You can teach them all about science when they are interested in dinosaurs," he said.
mfranco@hcnonline.com
©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2007
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EMCID approves $1.5 million to fire district
By Roycelyn Bastian - 11/1/07
EMCID offers ESD No. 7 $1.5 million.
In an effort to help the Montgomery County Emergency Services District 7 as well as protect future finances, the East Montgomery County Improvement District board of directors approved a $1,500,000 loan with no interest. By accepting the loan, the ESD will not hold a half cent tax election on Nov. 6.
"ESD 7 presented a proposed sales tax election that will negatively impact the Dinosaur Park in the sense that it will take away tax dollars that the governor approved and signed for the park and the retail development around it.
We decided to approve the money to help them address the growth and needs in our community," said Frank McCrady, president of the East Montgomery County Improvement District.
The $1,500,000 loan will be given to the department in the amount of $300,000 each year for the next five years starting on Dec. 1. Once the Dinosaur Park and the retail development on both sides of the street of the park is constructed, the department will receive a portion of the retail sales and add valorem tax that will allow them to make a balloon payment in the 10th year on Nov. 30, 2017.
The money is coming out of EMCID's general fund.
"We are basically giving them 10 years to pay us back the million dollar loan. We are able to do this because if they hold a sales tax election, that will take away the money that was approved to the Dinosaur Park, which will cause a huge financial concern. To alleviate it, we provide them the money and over time, they will pay us back," McCrady said.
ESD 7 will not have to repay the loan if EMCID is not successful in getting the Dinosaur Park, but they will forfeit the ability to call an election. If they only make $250,000 from the sales tax from the park, they will only have to pay half of the loan back.
The Montgomery County ESD 7 discussed the $1.5 million loan with its board of directors and received approval to accept the loan. The funding proposal of EMCID would provide the fire district with additional funding to employ three additional firefighters for five years.
"Overall, the proposal being presented by EMCID is a basis to provide additional firefighter protection to East Montgomery County up through the near completion stages of the new theme park to be constructed within the ESD 7 fire district," said Chief Jeff Taylor with the Montgomery County ESD 7 and fire chief for the New Caney Fire Department.
The exploding growth of East Montgomery County with the developments being orchestrated by EMCID was the basis of the proposed ESD 7 sales tax election. The additional sales tax would have provided the necessary financial resources to maintain a higher standard of public safety to its residents within the fire district.
For more information on this grant, call EMCID at 281-354-4419 or Montgomery County ESD 7 at 281-689-3112.
©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2007
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Dino Park expected to bring $1 billion in revenue to area
By Vanesa Brashier - 8/21/07
Frank McCrady, CEO for the East Montgomery County Improvement District told Rotarians last Wednesday about the projected economic impact to Cleveland and the surrounding area due to Dinosaur City, a 50-acre theme park and educational center being built just 15 miles south of Cleveland along US 59.
"The net impact on the area will be 2,700 new jobs created, of which 1,900 are part-time and 800 are full-time," McCrady said. "Attendance at the park is expected to be two million people each year. The net impact of this project is huge."
McCrady suggested that Cleveland can benefit from the flood of travelers expected at the park by providing accommodations and amenities, such as hotels, motels and restaurants.
"As we get a little further down the road, we will be looking at the amenities in the area and will be calling on the City of Cleveland and other cities for accommodations," he said.
He then detailed information about the park, such as it will likely be open for only 10 or 11 months a year (with the remaining time each year spent on upkeep and repairs).
"This park is different from other theme parks because the rides will also be an educational experience. The rides also will change from year to year to make it a whole new experience each year a person visits," said McCrady, suggesting this will encourage regular visits to Dinosaur City.
Plans call for visitors at the park to be given USB drives, which can be used to store information about the exhibits or photos, and a revolving elevated restaurant.
"The theme of the park will be the past, present and the future," McCrady said. "This park is a project that any community in the US would love to have and we're happy to have it right here."
vbrashier@hcnonline.com
©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2007 |
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This is an artist rendering of the entrance to Earth Quest, the new theme park set to open in 2012 in New Caney.
courtesy of Earth Quest:
courtesy of Earth Quest
By KATHERINE ECHOLS
Chronicle Correspondent - Aug. 1, 2007
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Film adviser will design theme park in New Caney
Site to provide entertainment, research venue
Plans are moving forward for "Dino" Don Lessem's Earth Quest Adventure Zone, a dinosaur-themed education and entertainment venture to open in New Caney by 2012.
Both the East Montgomery County Improvement District and Gov. Rick Perry are working hard to ensure that this project succeeds, officials said.
Perry recently signed House Bill 4015 to create a tax zone that will help finance the estimated $500-$600 million project. This tax will be included in the park's entry fee, said Frank McCrady, CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District.
Earth-friendly park
Lessem is a paleontologist, author and consultant who was an adviser for the Stephen Spielberg blockbuster Jurassic Park. His pet project has been called a dinosaur park, a dinosaur city and a theme park, but his concept for the park has remained relatively the same.
Don Holbrook, who is in charge of site selection and economic development for the New Caney area park, said Lessem envisions Earth Quest Adventure Zone as an earth-friendly park that will provide education through entertainment, create a renewed interest in dinosaurs and make Houston a premier dinosaur center.
This entertainment venue will not only educate park visitors about dinosaurs, but also about the relationship that human beings have with their planet, its animals and even technology, Holbrook said.
Hotel, theater planned
When Earth Quest Adventure Zone is completed, it will cover 250 acres north of Caney Creek and include dinosaur-themed exhibits, a hotel complex and spa and a theater complex tied to the hotel.
In addition, the park also will house a working research laboratory and the world's largest collection of dinosaurs and dinosaur bones. Holbrook said Earth Quest will be a center for dinosaur resources, research and education.
Further additions to the park are still being considered and may eventually include an immersive aquatic experience, animals, and an educational and entertaining online computer game that would allow participants to continue their gaming experience during their visit to Earth Quest.
Linking the park with a game would "put bricks and mortar to the online game experience," Holbrook said.
Not only does Earth Quest Adventure Zone represent Lessem's love of paleontology and his desire to share his passion through education, but it also represents his environmental conscience, Holbrook said.
The park will be engineered so that it can use alternative energy systems.
"As a green park or green zone, it will demonstrate how we can live in harmony with the environment and, whenever possible, offset (our) ties to fossil fuels," Holbrook said. "People really respect (Don) because he does what he says he'll do." |
Dinosaur park takes big step toward reality with funding green light Houston Business Journal - by Mary Ann Azevedo ( 7/20/07 )
A massive proposed Disney-style dinosaur entertainment complex dubbed Earthquest is getting some teeth after Texas Gov. Rick Perry last week signed enabling legislation for tax incentives to secure the project for East Montgomery County.
House Bill 4015, signed by Perry on July 12, will provide the equity to leverage investment in the dinosaur theme park project by creating a special tax zone in the area and by facilitating bond financing.
The development -- which is being created by Don Lessem of Pennsylvania-based ExhibitsRex LLC -- is expected to cost more than $600 million and cover 250 acres, with a $150 million spa hotel also to be built on the site. Originally, the park was going to sit on 50 acres (see "Dinosaur theme park may roar into Montgomery County," Nov. 10, 2006.)
Once completed in 2012, the Earthquest complex will employ about 2,700 people, according to Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District, or EMCID. Authored by Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, HB 4015 was designed to help EMCID officials win over the project's leaders.
Specifically, Otto says, the bill allows the 70,000-person district to:
- Collect a hotel/motel tax (with the exception of within the city limits of Splendora).
- Implement a tax or fee in relation to parking and admission. "If they (EMCID) need to sell bonds in order to do some infrastructure, they will now have the means to pay back the bonds," Otto says.
- Increase sales tax by .5 cents within the enterprise zone, which is the designated area in which the park would be located. Currently the tax rate is 7.75 percent.
Otto says the bill will help him achieve one of his goals: Adding a variety of new jobs to the area. "Schools and prisons are the largest employers at this time," he says. "This (project) will open up a significant number of jobs, particularly for young people."
McCrady says enlarging this type of job sector within the area is important.
"Certainly there will be individuals who are going to work not only inside the park, but also at businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, that are going to want to be closely located to the park," he says.
Dinosaur stomping grounds
When deciding where to plant the project, site locators started with 75 cities in 29 states. In the end, it was between the Dallas suburb of Red Oak and the Houston area. Houston ultimately won out, according to Earthquest consultant Don Holbrook, because of the commitment displayed by East Montgomery County officials.
"On paper, the two markets were extremely similar in all facets," says Holbrook, an independent consultant who is serving as economic developer and lead adviser on the Earthquest project. "What tipped the scale was the leadership of the public agency. We felt that
EMCID leadership and intellect understood the complexity of the deal and what it would take to get it done."
Holbrook insists the project will not be a "Disney knock-off" but instead will be a unique hybrid. Fueled by alternative energy, the eco-friendly project would focus on a Moody Gardens- or EPCOT-style mix of entertainment and education, with a dinosaur museum, IMAX-style theater, and walking trails amid life-size dinosaur exhibits. Also planned is a nonprofit educational complex called the DinoDon Institute, which Holbrook says would feature the world's largest dinosaur display when it opens in 2010.
The park would be located at Caney Creek near FM 1485 and U.S. Highway 59 on property owned by Marlin Atlantis, a Dallas-based residential community developer.
The land is part of a 1,564-acre undeveloped parcel once owned by Rice University that was acquired by Marlin Atlantis in 2004 for a proposed Whitestone residential community.
The land has been secured for purchase for the dinosaur project, although the deal has not yet closed, according to Holbrook.
Earthquest is the brainchild of Lessem, who also served as chief adviser to producers of the "Jurassic Park" movie. Through his Dinodon Inc., a division of ExhibitsRex, Lessem has created permanent and touring dinosaur exhibits.
For now, McCrady says the concept is still in the design phase and that no architects, general contractors or engineers have yet been hired.
He expects groundbreaking to take place sometime in the first half of 2008.
"Our area has traditionally and typically been an underserved community -- there's just not much here," McCrady says. "So we see this as a great tool and the beginning of additional amenities that will enhance the quality of life of the citizens who live here."
mazevedo@bizjournals.com; HBJ reporter Greg Barr contributed to this story. |
Park could help economy
By Howard Roden - 4/6/07
A glowing feasibility study has prompted the developer of a prehistoric theme park in east Montgomery County to accelerate his plans for what County Judge Alan B. Sadler said is likely to become Texas' most popular tourist attraction "since the Alamo."
If successful, Don Lessem's Dinosaur City could pump billions of dollars into the local economy annually, according to a consultant who works with Lessem.
A famed dinosaur expert, Lessem and officials with the East Montgomery County Improvement District met with Sadler in his office Thursday morning to discuss the proposed project, scheduled to open in the summer of 2010. The author of dinosaur-related books and a technical advisor to the movie "Jurassic Park," Lessem is working to transform his dream into a unique reality.
When first unveiled in November, officials said the combined entertainment and education theme park would encompass 50 acres at the northwest corner of the U.S. 59 and FM 1485 intersection in New Caney. But that was before an Orlando, Fla., firm that specializes in the themed attractions industry conducted its feasibility study on Lessem's concept.
Now, officials believe, with the interest the project is generating in possible investors, the park could grow to potentially hundreds of acres and serve as a "destination" attraction.
According to the Baker Leisure Group, Lessem's park has a "warranted investment level" in excess of $550 million. Because of that, EMCID President and Chief Executive Officer Frank McCrady said the project is not lacking potential investors.
"We're not having to find people. People are finding us," he said.
Don Holbook, economic consultant for Lessem's ownership group, Project Rex, said three banks and one private investment group have made inquiries. The favorable report has speeded up the company's timetable.
"What was going to take in five to six phases over 20 years is now going to be accomplished in three phases over 10 years," he said.
Baker Leisure Group has shown a willingness to become a partner in the park. Doug Rutledge, BLG's director of business development, said the proposed park's combination of dinosaurs, an interactive animal park and a "green park" focused on the world's current and future environment would allow Dinosaur City to "stand alone" as one of the "most unique" developments in recent years.
"There is a great opportunity to develop both a theme park and a destination resort," Rutledge said. "It (Dinosaur City) will employ a lot of concepts we know are executable.
"We would like to be involved. I asked them if we could bid on it to be the operator."
Baker Leisure Group's clients include Space Center Houston, the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas and a theme park in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, according to the company's Web site.
When Six Flags Astroworld closed down several years ago, it created "a vacuum" for "really solid" family entertainment in the Houston market, Rutledge said.
"Although roller coasters and 'dark' rides remain popular, this project is uniquely different. Even though the concept is not completely hatched out, the ability (of Lessem) to tell a story and tell it well is important," he said.
Lessem said the animal park is to include a variety of habitats for exotic species, as well as breeding areas.
"There also will be a large undersea component," he said.
The "green" aspect of the park will provide visitors with a sense of "possible future environments" around the world, including extreme locales such as desert or arctic areas. Complementing that concept will be a presentation of different cultures that will be rotated on a consistent basis, Lessem said.
"It will be both entertaining and educational," he said.
The addition of those two concepts has increased the "edutainment" park's land needs to 225 acres. EMCID's McCrady said the district has an option on obtained up to total of 507 acres.
"We need an adequate buffer area north of FM 1485," he said.
Sadler said he was "mildly supportive" of the theme park until he became aware of its economic potential. Construction costs alone are estimated at $2.6 billion, with the creation of 30,000 jobs, Holbrook said. Once finished, the park will directly employ 2,700, and its economic impact on Montgomery County has been forecast between $1 and $2 billion annually.
"This is the biggest project in Texas for the last 5 to 10 years," Sadler said, adding that, in terms of Texas tourist attractions, Dinosaur City will rank with the Alamo, the state capitol and Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.
The most important hurdle remaining is a piece of state legislation that would give the EMCID the authority to levy a variety of taxes, including a hotel occupancy tax (for a 450-room hotel), a sales and use tax, and a ticket tax. That revenue would used specifically to pay down the district's bond debt to help finance the project, and for any enhancements made in the designed investment areas, McCrady said.
House Bill 4015 was introduced March 23 by state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton. Sadler said a meeting has been set for Tuesday in Austin involving Otto, Lessem's group, EMCID officials and other local legislators to discuss the proposed bill.
Howard Roden can be reached at hroden@hcnonline.com.
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