Cantrell Wants Another Year to Fix Six Flags

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell wants her shot at finding a developer for the abandoned Six Flags property in New Orleans East, and the Industrial Development Board has agreed to give her a year to try.

The board on Tuesday (June 12) voted to enter into a new agreement with Cantrell’s administration after the agreement with former Mayor Mitch Landrieu expired on May 31. The agreement essentially allows the city to control the redevelopment process for the 227-acre amusement park that was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.

The board also signaled that it could lose patience with the city’s efforts at some point in the future: The independent panel, which accepted title to the property during former Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration, is running out of money to pay for maintenance and security at the site.

Costs run about $19,000 per month, and a fund that receives revenue from film productions that rent the property could run dry by the end of the year, IDB Counsel David Wolf said. So far, the city has not expressed interest in paying those costs when the money runs out.

“We’ll have to decide whether you want to dip into other funds at that point if the city isn’t responsible,” Wolf said. Part of the agreement board members voted to approve will include language that the IDB will not be responsible for covering maintenance and security costs when the Six Flags fund money is gone.

Landrieu and Nagin refused to take over maintenance and security costs for Six Flags. Ellen Lee, Cantrell’s top economic development official, told the board that there’s been no determination made about whether the administration would do so.

“Everything in this administration is new, there’s an opportunity to engage with the IDB around how we take care of the property,” Lee said. “I don’t want the perception to be that we’re not stepping up to the plate. Everything is on the table.”

Wolf said one option the board could consider is transferring title for the land to the city. Without an agreement with the city, IDB could undertake efforts to sell the site without city input, but both board members and city officials in the past have expressed concern that not selling the land outright could lead to further delays in getting the site into commerce.

Outgoing Landrieu administration officials warned Cantrell that the IDB would move to sell the property after the agreement with the board expired on May 31. But last week, Cantrell and Lee met with IDB Chairman Alan Philipson to relay the administration’s interest in beginning redevelopment efforts anew.

“We appreciate the consideration to continue this partnership so it will lead to a positive outcome that will lead to the revitalization of Six Flags,” Lee told the board.

That is easier said than done: A development deal in 2013 that would’ve turned the property into an outlet mall fell apart. Last year, three proposals to redevelop the park were turned down by the IDB over concerns that the developers lacked the financial backing to complete the project.

One of the  developers, Danny Rogers, showed up at Tuesday’s meeting to complain that he was “snubbed” by the Landrieu administration when he engaged efforts to discuss possible retail development. Rogers had bid $4.55 million for the property last year, but the board considered the offer “non-binding” because it was dependent on Rogers finding a financial backer.

Last year, “I predicted exactly this is where we would be. Nothing has occurred,” Rogers told the board. “We understand this is a complicated issue. We need some action. The public wants something to happen. This has gone on way too long.”

Rogers’ current vision for the site includes festival grounds, a water park and an RV park.