On Nov. 9, 2006, the Houston Business Journal reported that Don Lessem, �a Philadelphia entrepreneur and nationally recognized dinosaur expert, [had] chosen southeast Montgomery County as the site of a proposed large scale tourist attraction.�
According to Lessem, �Southeast Montgomery County edged out the other finalist, [the City of] Red Oak (a Dallas suburb).� He further stated that civic leaders in the New Caney area, �[were] a more aggressive and accomplished group, [with] a personal sense of commitment.�
From that moment on, the excitement and anticipation of a major, Disney-caliber resort grew to a fever pitch.
Time and again, local politicians and civic leaders repeated the mantra that New Caney and southeast Montgomery County had been selected over all other regions in America, news that was almost too good to be true. In particular, the board of directors of the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) took the lead in promoting, and funding, the dream that all rural counties and municipalities long to embrace. In fact, EMCID incurred liabilities in excess of $21 million to ensure that thedream would become reality.
All the while, local residents eagerly awaited updates as the project progressed. At first, Lessem�s proposal was Project Rex/Dinosaur City dinosaur skeleton, a 50-acre, $50 million, EPCOT-style museum and �edutainment� center. Over time, the project would morph into EarthQuest, a 1,600-acre, $600 million world-class theme park in a mega-complex valued at $1 billion.
Commercial land prices soared, hotels were built, and local citizens rubbed their hands in glee, unbelieving of their good fortune. The train to the Promised Land had left the station and nothing was going to derail it; even the sky was no limit.
But now, almost six years later, EarthQuest is little more than fancy, watercolored pictures that adorn the boardrooms of EMCID.
Lessem, the brainchild of this great adventure, has left the project, along with the developer, Marlin-Atlantis. No construction is planned; investors are nowhere to be found. Funding to EarthQuest consultants has stopped.
The phone still rings at the EarthQuest Institute, but no one answers. And the site upon which EarthQuest was planned is under the threat of foreclosure. All the while, $7.635 million in municipal bonds issued by EMCID costs local taxpayers almost $600,000 in annual debt service.
And no one wants to talk about the $2.5 million in cash expenditures made by EMCID for �other� expenses related to EarthQuest. Even still dinosaur fossil, Frank McCrady, president of EMCID, continues to believe in the dream, boldly stating, �EarthQuest will be built; it�s not a matter of if, but when.�
So what went wrong? This is a nagging question that researchers for The Tribune have exhausted countless hours trying to answer. What they have discovered is, at best, distressing. And maybe most unsettling of all is the very genesis of EarthQuest. Of particular note are two revelations that portray a vastly different beginning than what has been told to the public.
Tags : dinosaur fossi, dinosaur skele