Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 5, 1994 TAG: 9407050050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MIRAMAR, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
When Faith Wagner looks at the same parcel, she sees a nightmare.
Wagner's new home is just an interstate, four streets and a canal away from where Huizenga plans to build Blockbuster Park, Florida's biggest tourist attraction since Walt Disney World.
She doesn't like the idea - but then, she's not alone.
She and others worry that the park will increase traffic and noise, while lowering property values. Some question the extent of public funding for the project and fear it will destroy the environment - the park would be built on the edge of the Everglades - and lead to water shortages.
Nonetheless, the video store magnate's blockbuster vision is bound to become reality. He has spent an estimated $30 million so far and pushed through state legislation creating a special district for the park, giving the company broad powers, including taxation, tax-exempt bonding and eminent domain.
Many are awed by Blockbuster's vision of an economic powerhouse: The park would provide 16,600 full-time jobs and $64 million in annual state and local taxes, according to a report by a Blockbuster consultant.
"We worship the god of growth in Broward County," says Patti Webster, executive director of the Environmental Coalition of Broward County.
And Faith Wagner is in a position to witness those damages up close. The Wagners, refugees from the wreckage of Hurricane Andrew, chose their home in part for the development's peacefulness and nighttime tranquility.
The family spent 20 noisy months in an apartment between two fire stations waiting for their house to be built. And then Blockbuster Park, popularly known as "Wayne's World," looked to move into the neighborhood.
"It's not at all what I envisioned when I put my money down," she says. "I don't see how you could have a hullabaloo across the street and have it still be quiet here."
Huizenga's hullabaloo would include:
A 45,000-seat domed baseball park for his Florida Marlins; a 20,000-seat hockey arena for his Florida Panthers; a theme park; movie, music, TV and radio studios; an outdoor marine stadium, a virtual reality amusement center; facilities for golf, tennis, roller skating and youth sports; movie and dinner theaters; shops, restaurants and offices.
Details are fluid; plans won't be submitted to a regional planning council until September.
Opponents are not waiting to see the final proposal. They have formed Residents Against Wayne's World, a pithy RAWW for short, in hopes of blocking or restraining the development.
They fear traffic congestion, noise, and creeping commercial development akin to the neon strips of Orlando and Kissimmee outside Walt Disney World. And they note the hidden costs, including public ownership of the stadium and arena, and a $42 million federal grant needed to build highway interchanges.
by CNB