Economic Development Consultants Archives

happy holidays from The Adventure Entertainment Cos.

Adventure Entertainment Cos. has new website.

The Adventure Entertainment Cos., an affiliate of StoneCreek Partners (“SCP”), has launched a new website at AEC Creative – in Beta form. Some of the client experience and specific projects that have been listed here along with SCP experience will be moved over to AEC Creative.

The Adventure Entertainment Cos. (AEC) is a conceptual design and project implementation company, focused on themed attractions, location-based entertainment, and outdoor recreation. AEC regularly collaborates with StoneCreek Partners during the project feasibility and conceptual design stages of client assignments, providing early “previsualization” of potential site organization, project massing and relative scale, and exploration of guest scripting and experience.

AEC has also established ventures with 3rd-party organizations for the operation of niche destination facilities in outdoor recreation (GoBOLD Adventures), creative campuses (Monumental Studios), and living stories (StagePlex). These new ventures are led by highly-experienced professionals in these industries, including Paul Bierman-Lytle, Justin Zoladz, and Robert “Bob” Johnson, among others. The purpose of Adventure Entertainment Cos. having a new website, is to prepare for more direct-to-consumer communications about these coming destination facilities. The Adventure Entertainment Cos. is committed to the creation of destination experiences for major project as well as smaller intra-regional locations, that combine the outdoor recreation, extreme sport, themed, and location-based entertainment industries.

The EB-5 Program is Reauthorized

11.03.2022 all Real Estate Industry News, EB-5 Project Feasibility Consultants, Economic Development Consultants, Economic Development Growth Monitor, Industrial and logistics real estate consultants, News about acquisitions and financing, News about economic development, News about local government real estate, Office and Industrial Facilities Consultants, Opportunity Zone Consultants, Project Consultants for North America, Project Consultants for Tribes and First, Project Feasibility Consultants, Public Sector Work, Real Estate Consultants, StoneCreek Partners News and Research, Tourism Destination Strategy Consultants

President Biden signed legislation today with the effect that the EB-5 program is reauthorized, in particular its Regional Center component, effective now through September 30, 2027. The program is part of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (the “Act”), which itself is part of the Omnibus spending bill signed by the President.

The reauthorization of the Regional Center program follows an almost 9 month lapse, when prior efforts failed to extend the program beyond July 1, 2021. The Regional Centers aspect of EB-5 have allowed foreign investors a special opportunity to invest in high-profile developments that they likely would not otherwise find accessible. The EB-5 program had its controversies and numerous parties had worked to place safeguards to prevent fraud and encourage investment in areas that followed from the original intent of the program.

The EB-5 program allows foreign investors to invest a specified amount of capital into a U.S. enterprise that creates American jobs, in return for permanent residency. With passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, changes were made to the program to presumably improve its implementation. The new legislation emphasizes compliance with EB-5’s intent along with enforcement procedures. Program sponsors under EB-5 will face greater scrutiny in recordkeeping, investment types, audits, and investor communications. The minimum EB-5 investment amount now increases to $800,000 from the current $500,000 for Targeted Employment Areas and Rural Areas, and, changes to $1.05 million from the current $1.0 million for Non-Targeted Employment Areas. These changed minimum investments apply to both regional center and direct EB-5 investments.

With the news that the EB-5 Program is reauthorized, a backload of foreign investors who were in the midst of processing last June, will hopefully soon see progress in the processing of their investment / visa applications.

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990.

New Adventure Recreation Company Launches

23.09.2021 Adventure Parks & Extreme Venues, all Adventure Entertainment Cos. News, all Real Estate Industry News, Economic Development Consultants, Golf course redevelopment and adaptive re-use, News about economic development, News about global real estate consulting, News about location-based entertainment, News about outdoor recreation venues, News about themed entertainment and attractions, Outdoor Recreation Facility Consultants, StoneCreek Partners News and Research, Tourism Destination Strategy Consultants

Sustainable Environment Associates (SEAS) and Adventure Entertainment Cos. have launched GoBOLD Adventures™, an adventure recreation design-builder, and operator. As the new adventure recreation company launches, GoBOLD is focused on new locations in several formats, from all-new destination facilities to augmentation of quality existing venues.

The convergence of these companies provides the comprehensive expertise in developing and operating adventure destinations. GoBOLD Adventures is comprised of international experts in multiple disciplines specializing in creating unique “bucket list” destinations. GoBOLD’s projects range from scenic natural destinations in the U.S., to national and regional parks, remote island resorts, and jungle or desert glamping.

The two companies each brings an extensive capability in outdoor recreation and facility operations. SEAS is associated with Pangaeon, through the leadership of international adventure recreation specialist, Paul Bierman-Lytle. The Adventure Entertainment Cos. LLC are an owned affiliate of StoneCreek Partners LLC. GoBOLD Adventures (GoBOLD Adventures.com) brings the development and facility management experiences of the two companies within one operating organization.

The GoBOLD Adventures website includes information about the company’s locations and career opportunities. As the new adventure recreation company launches, the company’s senior management intends a focus on expansion of the senior management and local rep teams for select global regions.

North America’s Borders Remain Closed

12.12.2020 Covid-19 impacts and recovery, Economic Development Consultants, Economic Development Growth Monitor, Project Consultants for North America, StoneCreek Partners News and Research

North America’s borders remain closed through January 21, 2021, limiting border crossings to “essential trade only” between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The mutually-agreed extension has been made on a month by month basis during 2020, and has been in place since March of this year.

The border closure is due to Covid-19 cases on both sides of each border, and the interest of each country in protecting their citizens. The national health agencies and ministries, and health officers, for each country are part of the decision-making for these restrictions. Each country is looking to relevant data and protective health measures that seem to be working.

So-called border crossing due to “essential trade” activity is allowed under the provisions of the agreed restrictions, between the U.S. and Canada, and between Mexico and the U.S. While essential economic development and various business activities continue, cross-border tourist activities to any number of visitor destinations have been decimated.

Presumptive President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will be part of the next consideration of these border restrictions. Biden is set to take office on January 20, and the current border restrictions come due for consideration on January 21st.

A full article in Travel Pulse from December 11, 2020 indicating that North America’s borders remain closed, is available at this link:

US, Canada and Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended

Marne-la-Vallée Master Plan

01.11.2020 Economic Development Consultants, Golf course redevelopment and adaptive re-use, Land Development Consultants, Master Planned Community Developments, Tourism Destination Strategy Consultants

The Marne-la-Vallée master plan was part of an overall new town economic development plan to relieve urban development pressures on Paris. Our work noted here was conducted by a predecessor company in which our co-founder was a partner. Our work in connection with the Marne-la-Vallée master plan included the land use planning and strategic business planning support for client Walt Disney Co.

The strategic business planning work included product concepting and financial analysis for various sections of the master land use plan, including specific feasibility issues raised by client’s strategic planning department. Work performed also included overall land development consulting analysis such as land residual valuations – a means of depicting build-out value for various master plan and build-out scenarios, as well as financial studies of alternative routings of planning golf course facilities.

Marne-la-Vallée is a new town, an economic development strategy for the greater Paris region of France. It is about a 50-minute drive (by auto) from the center of the Marne-la-Vallée new town master plan which includes Paris Disneyland, over to central Paris (at or about Pont Neuf). By metro the trip is about one-half the time by automobile. The Marne-la-Vallée project was one of five new towns envisioned in the early 1960’s, and emerged among these other concept new towns as the largest.

The new town was intended to take some of the urban development pressure away from Paris and place a new focus in a new location. Paris Disneyland was the business “anchor” for propelling the start and growth of the new town region. From a population of Marne-la-Vallée has a current population of more than 280,000 residents. The Marne-la-Vallée master plan called for a potential of 500,000 residents at full build-out.

Other major institutions that located in this new town include Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and École des Ponts ParisTech, among numerous others. The Descartes Cluster is also situated in Marne-la-Vallée new town, the largest concentration in France of research centers (50+), higher education organizations and businesses involved in green technologies and city sustainability.

The master planning process for Paris Disneyland (then Euro Disneyland) was comprehensive and wide-ranging. Disney’s overall project included master-planning of a major regional theme park and themed entertainment district in the vicinity of the theme park.