City of White Settlement ends relationship with Hawaiian Falls
By amusementtoday | April 28, 2016
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas — Just two years after opening, the city of White Settlement sent a notice to Harvest Family Entertainment Texas LP (HFE) that it was terminating the land lease it had to operate a Hawaiian Falls water park on city property.
Hawaiian Falls White Settlement, opened in 2014 as the first North Texas waterpark/adventure park combo, adding a ropes course, zip lines, rappelling walls, a 20,000 square-foot indoor arcade, and an event center to the typical water park offerings.
As with many Hawaiian Falls projects, the parks are a public-private partnership, with cities contributing funds or other incentives to have a water park built on city-owned land. The White Settlement Park cost $17 million to build. Typically, Hawaiian Falls borrows that money from the city then pays it back through a long-term lease agreement.
The City of White Settlement terminated the agreement on April 21, after just two seasons. According to the city, Hawaiian Falls had been in arrears on its lease payments. The city determined that it was unlikely that delinquent lease payments would be made any time in the near future, and that future lease payments were unlikely to be paid as scheduled.
Hawaiian Falls had already sold season passes to the park and had hired and started training employees for the upcoming season. The company has indicated that season passes are good at all Hawaiian Falls parks, and it will try to relocate current employees into its existing locations.
The City of White Settlement has assumed control of the facility and is fast at work removing signage and preparing the park for the upcoming season. Plans call for the establishment of a new name and to have the park open as soon as possible. The city is currently directing questions regarding season passes, tickets, and event bookings to Hawaiian Falls, instructing customers that Hawaiian Falls still exists but Hawaiian Falls White Settlement does not. The city of White Settlement website states, “The city is adamant to see the park facility grow, provide seasonal employment for our youth and other professionals, as well as ensure excellent customer service during and after the changeover.”
HFE operates six family-friendly water parks in accordance with Christian principles under the Hawaiian Falls brand. The company was founded by David Busch, of Horizon Family Holdings LLC, who had experience building multiple water parks in several states. He came to Texas to start a more community-based entertainment company. The first Hawaiian Falls Water Park open in Garland, Texas, in 2003.
HFE has had financial difficulties in the past resulting in the sale of the first two parks in Garland and The Colony to CNL Properties. CNL Properties leases the parks back to HFE to operate as Hawaiian Falls parks.
