WG Pitts Co. Awards Powers Design Steamboat City Theme Park Contract

The $150 million Steamboat City theme park is set for completion in 2006.

WG Pitts Co., a Jacksonville, Fla. general contracting firm, has awarded Powers Design (Powers Mackey Reidenbach & Lanehart, Inc.) the contract for the $150 million Steamboat City theme park. Powers Design, founded in 1980, provides architecture, theming, graphic high design services, planning, and landscape architecture services for a variety of projects and clientele from their office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, including planned residential and destination resort communities, urban design, office and retail development.

Steamboat City is located in Glynn County, Georgia?EUR??,,????'???s coastal region near Brunswick, about equidistant from Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville. The park will encompass 700 acres within the 2,100-acre community of Steamboat City, located on both sides of the interstate and owned by Steamboat City Development Company LP. The length of the property fronts I-95; its width fronts State Road 99.

The design plans for the first phase of the 2,100-acre, mixed-use development have been completed under the direction of Will Pitts of the Steamboat City Partnership, Powers Design, and over 30 specialized consultants from California to Florida. The theme resort park is slated for opening in 2006.

?EUR??,,????'??To say that the Powers Design team is elated to be a part of this exceptional project would be an understatement,?EUR??,,????'?? remarked John Powers, the company president and lead designer. Powers heads up the design and planning of the project along with Tom Reidenbach, director of architectural theming. Reidenbach has provided design services for Universal Studios, Silver Dollar City, Rosie O?EUR??,,????'???Grady?EUR??,,????'???s Good Time Emporium, the Mirage Hotel and Casino, and worked for Disney for over 10 years. Steve Mackey, vice president of architectural design and project manager for Powers Design, has worked on various theme parks, including Jaws at Universal Studios.

The park will follow four thematic threads: history, heritage, nature and adventure. Comprised of eight distinct areas, each will focus on specific aspects of the theme and story. The basic design includes one main entrance and exit with various domains radiating from the center.

?EUR??,,????'??You enter through a full scale Steamboat and proceed through a historical town from the 1800s to the 1920s and experience a major carnival with a variety of rides and events,?EUR??,,????'?? Powers explained.

The strategy of the creative team is to approach the design as a living theater experience, with each attraction having a storyline.

LEDO International, Inc. has been retained by the WG Pitts Company to provide the feasibility study and oversee operations at Steamboat City. The selected builder is Suitt Construction, with offices in Orlando and North Carolina. Suitt has major theme park experiences, including Universal Studios, Discovery Island and Silver Dollar City.

Steamboat City theme park in Coastal Georgia will be led by two local firms, WG Pitts and Powers Design.