A local failed tourist attraction is offering their wooden roller coaster for free to any non-profit who will dismantle it.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-update-dania-roller-coaster-20130321,0,3091814.story
The Dania Beach Hurricane roller coaster, the tallest wooden roller coaster in Florida, is still standing.
But not for long.
Current owners Dania Woody, LLC plan to demolish the 100-foot-tall structure visible to drivers on Interstate 95 in southern Broward County May 28, says Allyson Goodwin, an attorney with Saavedra Pelosi Goodwin and Hermann that represents Dania Woody.
In January, the Hurricane was almost auctioned off for delinquent taxes. The auction was averted when the back taxes owed were paid. Dania Woody officials then offered to donate the roller coaster to a nonprofit as long as they would dismantle the structure and haul it away. So far no one has committed, Goodwin said.
"We're still trying to see if the materials can be donated but we're running out of time," she said. "And we've had some interest from a group in France that has been crunching the numbers to see about rebuilding the structure overseas. And an interior designer has reviewed the possibility of using the wood in commercial venues like restaurants and lobbies."
The roller coaster was built with more than a million feet of lumber and 8 million pounds of concrete.
The cost to build the coaster 12 years ago, which currently encompasses an L-shaped patch of about 4.5 acres, was about $6 million, says Goodwin. "To build it now with new materials would be in excess of $10 million," she added. "Taking it down and rebuilding it somewhere else would save about $3 million."
The Hurricane opened in 2000, and for more than a decade thrill-seekers lined up for coaster joy rides at the laser-tag and go-kart theme park Boomers Greater Fort Lauderdale.
"There were three couples who got married on that roller coaster, Playboy did a photo shoot on it," said Goodwin, who has received dozens of emails from coaster fans who say they will miss it. The attraction closed in April 2011 when Dania Woody declared bankruptcy.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-update-dania-roller-coaster-20130321,0,3091814.story
The Dania Beach Hurricane roller coaster, the tallest wooden roller coaster in Florida, is still standing.
But not for long.
Current owners Dania Woody, LLC plan to demolish the 100-foot-tall structure visible to drivers on Interstate 95 in southern Broward County May 28, says Allyson Goodwin, an attorney with Saavedra Pelosi Goodwin and Hermann that represents Dania Woody.
In January, the Hurricane was almost auctioned off for delinquent taxes. The auction was averted when the back taxes owed were paid. Dania Woody officials then offered to donate the roller coaster to a nonprofit as long as they would dismantle the structure and haul it away. So far no one has committed, Goodwin said.
"We're still trying to see if the materials can be donated but we're running out of time," she said. "And we've had some interest from a group in France that has been crunching the numbers to see about rebuilding the structure overseas. And an interior designer has reviewed the possibility of using the wood in commercial venues like restaurants and lobbies."
The roller coaster was built with more than a million feet of lumber and 8 million pounds of concrete.
The cost to build the coaster 12 years ago, which currently encompasses an L-shaped patch of about 4.5 acres, was about $6 million, says Goodwin. "To build it now with new materials would be in excess of $10 million," she added. "Taking it down and rebuilding it somewhere else would save about $3 million."
The Hurricane opened in 2000, and for more than a decade thrill-seekers lined up for coaster joy rides at the laser-tag and go-kart theme park Boomers Greater Fort Lauderdale.
"There were three couples who got married on that roller coaster, Playboy did a photo shoot on it," said Goodwin, who has received dozens of emails from coaster fans who say they will miss it. The attraction closed in April 2011 when Dania Woody declared bankruptcy.
