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    Amusement Park Postponed

    Will new AstroWorld ever blast off? Opening of Grand Texas theme park delayed again

    Elizabeth Rhodes
    Jun 1, 2015 | 11:01 am

    Judging from all the comments on CultureMap, Houstonians are thrilled at the prospect for the planned Grand Texas Theme Park — especially since it's been nearly a decade since Six Flags AstroWorld closed. But now the project has been delayed again, with fears that it may never get off the ground.

     

     Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District, a proposed 620-acre complex just north of New Caney, is designed to feature a 150-acre theme park, a 40-acre water park, an 83-acre "Sportsplex," a two-mile racing track, an RV park, four hotels and a factory outlet mall.

     

    The theme park portion was initially slated to open this summer; then the date was pushed to 2016. Now, it is not expected to open until late 2017, according to a report from Impact News.

     

    In an email to CultureMap officials said:

     
     

    The SpeedsportZ Race Park has begun clearing and construction. Construction on the RV Park should begin soon. The opening dates for the waterpark and theme park have been pushed back. We continue to work diligently on the project and hope to have more of an update soon!"

     
     

    Developer Monty Galland told the Houston Chronicle that delays in construction and building infrastructure been the culprit in the ever-changing proposed opening dates. Conroe-based engineering group Bleyl & Associates is currently reworking the master plan.

     

    The first phase of the "Big Rivers Water Park" — now slated for completion in the summer of 2016 — is slated to include the largest wave pool in Houston, a lazy river, children's slides, splash pad areas and "extreme" slides for thrillseekers, Galland told Impact News.

     

    Galland noted that construction of the theme park is contingent upon the addition of a new electricity substation near Splendora, expected to break ground in just a few months with completion planned for 2017. The park's newly updated master plan revealed that the area's existing power grids couldn't accommodate the amount of electricity needed to power the rides planned.

     

    Galland anticipates all sections of the park will be open and operating in their initial phases by late 2018 through mid-2019.

    The Grand Texas mascot hasn't had a lot to smile about lately.

    Grand Texas theme park horse mascot HORIZONTAL
      
    Grand Texas Theme Park/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=302144103187604&set=pb.278986002170081.-2207520000.1361375676&type=3&theater]
    The Grand Texas mascot hasn't had a lot to smile about lately.
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    Real Estate Rumblings

    Vacation home sales surge as buyers seek fun and a good investment

    Ralph Bivins
    Jul 7, 2015 | 10:43 am
    Vacation home sales surge as buyers seek fun and a good investment
    Photo courtesy of HomeAway
    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.

    Sales of vacation home sales are surging across the nation as Americans seek out their own place for a family retreat, a regular vacation spot or a place to ski, sail, fish or hike.

     

    Vacation home sales were up a whopping 57 percent in 2014 over the sales of 2013, according to a national report by the National Association of Realtors.

     

    “Vacation home sales are skyrocketing,” says Dallas-based journalist Candy Evans, a CultureMap contributor and founder of CandysDirt.com and Secondshelters.com. “Vacation home sales have shown astounding growth. I get 50 emails a day from developers with new projects that are coming up.”

     

     

      “Vacation home sales have shown astounding growth," says Candy Evans. "I get 50 emails a day from developers with new projects that are coming up.” 

     
     

    Evans, who moderated a vacation homes panel in Miami at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference, says the surge is driven by “The One Percent” – affluent households who have done well in the stock market in recent years.

     

    “The wealthy got even wealthier since the recession of 2008,” says John Klemish, broker in-charge at the upscale Greenbrier Sporting Club resort in West Virginia.

     

    The buyers at the ultra-luxe Greenbrier often pay all cash and the typical buyer there has at least three or four other houses, says Klemish.

     

    The massive Baby Boomer generation is supporting the surge in the vacation home market as they acquire vacation homes now and plan to convert them to their primary residences after retiring.

     

    The top choice for vacation home buyers is the beach, according to the National Association of Realtors Vacation Home Buyers Survey.

     

    Last year, 40 percent of vacation buyers purchased in a beach area, 19 percent purchased in the country and 17 percent purchased a vacation home in the mountains. The average buyer purchases a vacation home that is 200 miles away from his/her primary residence.

     

    Foreign buyers are also supporting the vacation home boom. Owning real estate in a country with a stable economy can be an appealing haven to affluent people from other parts of the world.

     
     

      The top choice for vacation home buyers is the beach, according to the National Association of Realtors Vacation Home Buyers Survey. 

     
     

    “We’ve seen a huge desire for real estate from flight capital,” says Phillip Day, an executive with the IMI vacation realty company in Greenville, S.C. “We see a lot of people from Europe and South America.”

     

    The ability to get rental income by renting out a vacation home is attractive, says Jon Gray, chief revenue officer at Austin-based HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation home owners.

     

    The owner of a vacation home gains $28,000 a year, on average, by renting out their vacation home, Gray says. Many vacation home buyers can cover half, or even three-fourths of their mortgage payments with rental income, says Gray, a panelist at last week’s NAREE conference.

     

    Orlando Realtor Chris Cain, author of “Your Made in the USA Vacation Home” says the investment aspect of vacation home buying is huge. And it is appealing to a cross-section of buyers, not just the ultra-rich.

     

    “If your primary residence is the best investment of your life,” says Cain, “why not buy a vacation home, too?”

     

     Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is founding editor of Realty News Report.

    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.

    HomeAwayLuxuryLakeAustinVilla
      
    Photo courtesy of HomeAway
    Rental income is an important factor in buying a vacation home, says Jon Gray of HomeAway, an online marketplace that connects renters with vacation homes like this one on Lake Austin.
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