Theme Park coming to Williams (Flagstaff, Prescott: condos, hotels, new home)

[Gretchen B]

Just a perspective from someone living within 90 miles of the project, here's some of the issues that seem to raise red flags to me:
1) Water - not only having enough water for this theme park and its million of visitors, but also for the accompanying growth.
2) Traffic congestion, etc. Besides the park, lots of fast food/gas stations/etc at the I-40 interchange is going to really increase traffic. If I lived in Williams, I don't think I'd enjoy having alot of tourists in my backyard.
3) An increase in a transient population. Lots of "seasonal" jobs means lots of people who won't be permanent residents and won't help pay taxes (except sales tax). And also the possible increase in crime that normally comes with a large transient population.
4) Weather - Williams does not have the mild year round climate that one would expect for a theme park to be able to run year round. If anyone is familiar with the "old" Elitches or Lakeside amusement parks in Denver - they always closed for the winter months.
5) Impact on housing, especially rentals. Investors are going to look at buying up any low cost housing and turning it into rentals. Rental prices will really climb, as will housing costs in general. It's great if you presently live in Williams and are planning to move. Not so great if you currently rent in Williams or if you'd like to buy in the future. Also, as another poster mentioned, BIG tax increase if you currently own and want to stay in Wms.

[HAMMERHEAD46]

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Besides costs, what about availability of that much water?

Here is a partial answer to your question on water availability

http://az.water.usgs.gov/pubs/01-4058intro.html (broken link)
The water being as deep as it is makes any real world determination of how much is in the aquifer impossible.

[rambrush]

Wow that water is deep!
I was just in Williams today on the way to Flag. Was great snow on the ground.
But man was there a ton of tourists in town already headin to the canyon it appeared.
Williams knows how to handle and cater to the tourists. They will just have to gear up to handle the extra.

[exlexisnexis]

I think the majority of folks in the area want the growth to happen in the Williams area but were a bit nervous about the size of the original Theme park,since the size has been reduced to a 1/3 of the original size this should help make just about everybody happy except those hoping for 0 growth which is silly.

Richard

[exlexisnexis]

More news on the scaled down theme park


Grand Canyon Country, according to GCNAE representatives, will offer four separate "lands" as part of its overall park, with plans to include a Route 66-themed area, a cowboy-themed land, a Grand Canyon attraction and a Native American village. Gone were the original plans for a fixed Renaissance in the Pines location, Asian Gardens, performing arts pavilion and an arts and crafts plaza as GCNAE Chairman and CEO Mike Morgan originally presented them in 2005. Besides the "lands," representatives said they plan to build a lodge and offer cabins for overnight guests. A green area will also be offered, according to GCNAE President Casey Buitenhuis, which visitors can use for a variety of events, including parties and open air shows. Renaissance in the Pines, according to GCNAE officials, will make use of the green area as well; though Buitenhuis said they may offer the group a fixed location in the park should the renaissance attraction prove successful.

GCNAE hired Thinkwell Design and Productions, notable for their expertise in multi-themed attractions, to design the park.

[exlexisnexis]

http://www.thinkwelldesign.com/index2.html (broken link)

This is the design company for the park it is first class !!!!!!!!!!

Richard

[exlexisnexis]

It is not a big deal having water delivered to your home it is like having heating oil or propane delivered except a whole lot cheaper,folks in N Az have been getting water delivered for years without it being a big deal.
In a few years they will have wind and solar very economical so it will not be a big deal to be off grid either.
Once the growth starts happening then they will put in city water and electric lines like they are doing in Kingman and Chino valley.


Richard

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by exlexisnexis

Once the growth starts happening then they will put in city water and electric lines like they are doing in Kingman and Chino valley.

Chino Valley is experiencing some rapid growth right now and will continue to do so. Although almost all of the current residents have private wells, I know the Town of Chino Valley is looking to buy into the Big Chino aquifer development with Prescott and Prescott Valley. The towns are finding out that the cost to build the infrastructure to pipe the water from there (north of Paulden) into the towns is turning out to be astronomical!

Already, Chino Valley and Prescott Valley are imposing BIG impact fees, and Prescott is getting ready to raise theirs. Yes, it's nice when city utilities are available, but it doesn't come cheap. Taxpayers, and homeowners in particular, end up seeing a large increase in their tax bill and water bill.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) has its concerns about water availability in the rural areas. There's lots of interesting info available on their website: http://www.azwater.gov/dwr/ if anybody out there would like to take a look.
Here's an excerpt from their Annual Report.

Short-Term Challenges and OpportunitiesDrought/Rural Water Supply Even in the absence of drought, water supply conditions in the communities of rural Arizona are a serious problem. Growth rates are very high, with projected continued growth in many communities that do not have the water supplies or the financial resources to sustain it. There are inadequate mechanisms to ensure availability of water supplies to support growth in the rural areas of the State. In addition, increasing demands for groundwater will continue to impact important springs and surface water flows that support riparian and recreation areas.

Just something to think about. It will be interesting to see how things develop and how the Town of Williams and the theme park developers proceed. Also, I am curious as to whether or not the Town of Williams will be offering some incentives to the developers (probably in the form of infrastructure, etc.) Richard, what have you heard so far on that?

[exlexisnexis]

I believe there has been talk about drilling a new well in Williams in the near future. with regards to cost of infrastructure whether there is plentiful water or not the cost to get people from wells to city infrastructure is expensive but important for controlled use and recycling of natural resources,but the sooner you implement this infrastructure the better off you are.

[exlexisnexis]

Now we have the Grand canyon,Theme park,skywalk, new Imax center, upgraded Grand Canyons caverns to offer tourists. This is just the beginning of businesses finally getting wise to the fact that there is gold in the pockets of all these tourists visiting the Grand canyon but you have to give the tourists interesting things to spend thier money on.
I would rather see them spend money on these things rather than see them lose thier money at the casinos and have no memories to take home with them other than a blackjack table.
Keep them tourist attractions coming.

I would love to see some stuff being built on RT 66 to bring back all that nostalgia.

Richard


Grand Canyon Caverns to spelunk down $2 million
Expansion to include RV park and observatory

Thursday, April 05, 2007


Tour guide Jerry Keeler explains the wonders of the Grand Canyon Caverns to visiting explorers. An elevator, brought from New York in the 1960¹s, takes visitors 21 stories beneath the earth.
Owners of the Grand Canyon Caverns and Inn, located west of Seligman on old Route 66, said the local attraction is in for a number of changes in the coming months. Co-owner Kim Kadletz, who has owned the caverns along with three others for the past five years, said the caverns will undergo a $2 million upgrade to attract visitors for a longer stay in the area and, ultimately, transform the Grand Canyon Caverns into what Kadletz calls a "destination spot." According to him, the caverns themselves may offer additional subterranean passages for visiting spelunkers to explore as well. The existing caverns are located over 250 feet, or 21 stories, beneath the surface.