.: Herschend Family/Horizon Release

Margaret Allen- Staffwriter, Dallas Business Journal, Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation Makes Majority Investment in Horizon Family Inc. to Develop the Hawaiian Falls Water Parks
NORTH GARLAND — A California-based developer is building a $4.1 million water park in Garland and is in talks with two other Metroplex cities for similar projects. In a unique partnership with the city of Garland, Hawaiian Falls is being built at a prime location on city-owned land in the 129-acre Cecil Winters Regional Park, just 1 mile south of State Highway 190 on North Garland Road. Terms of the deal give developer Horizon Family Inc. a 20-year lease on 16 acres, while the city will receive 5% of the park's gross proceeds, according to Michael Holden, city councilman for District One, which includes north Garland. "People talk about economic development, this is a true public-private partnership. They're not getting any money from the taxpayer," Holden said. "And instead of a bond election and having the taxpayers pay for it, Garland residents are going to get a service." Privately held Horizon Family Inc. chose Garland because of "the void" of water park entertainment venues in the Metroplex, said David Busch, founder of Horizon and a majority shareholder with his wife, Julie. "Garland is the right spot for what we call a 'micro park,' " Busch said. "There are 1 million people within 10 miles of the spot and no competition in that zone." Bill Haralson, president of national theme park consultants William L. Haralson & Associates, based in Richardson, said the Garland park should do well.
"My guess is the market could actually support bigger than what they are building," said Haralson, noting Garland was once home to one of the top 10 water parks in the nation, Wet'n Wild, before it closed a decade ago. "I think it will do well. Dave Busch is a world-class developer. He is among the elite in the water park industry." Horizon approached Garland with the idea of building a water park more than a year ago and learned Garland had already performed a feasibility study for a water park in the area. Unlike the sprawling 47-acre Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, owned by the world's second-largest theme-park company — Oklahoma-based Six Flags Inc. (NYSE: PKS) — Hawaiian Falls will cover only 7 acres. The park will feature slide complexes, landscaping, theme areas and a "lazy river" for tube floating. Proceeds should deliver up to $100,000 annually to the city, Busch said. "What we've done is taken the most positive attractions of the big parks and put them on one-third to one-half the footprint," he said. The closest thing locally to Hawaiian Falls is 17-acre North Richland Hills Family Water Park, known as NRH20, one of fewer than 15 "micro water parks" in the nation, he said. That park, owned by the city of North Richland Hills, had $3.3 million revenue in 2000, according to Chris Swartz, park manager. Horizon anticipates 126,000 visitors a year to Hawaiian Falls, which will open Memorial Day weekend and run through Labor Day. Admission will be about $12 for adults and $8 for kids, with 3,500 season passes available for $69 on a first-come first-served basis to Garland residents. Missouri-based real estate investment trust Entertainment Properties Trust (NYSE: EPR) is the financial partner, Busch said. Horizon has done deals similar to the one in Garland with two cities in California and one in Arizona. Busch discovered the Texas market after working as a consultant on a city of Denton water park now under construction. Contact DBJ writer Margaret Allen at mallen@bizjournals.com or (214) 706-7119.