SANTA CLARA — The land beneath the Great America amusement park in Santa Clara has officially been bought by a mega-developer in a deal that starts the clock ticking on the eventual shutdown of the entertainment complex.
The land under the Great America theme park in Santa Clara has been bought by a mega-developer in a deal that starts the clock ticking on the eventual shutdown of the economic complex.
The purchase was formally completed on June 29, according to a deed filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Prologis, acting through an affiliate, paid $310 million for the land at 1 Great America Parkway, the county property records show. Prologis is one of the nation’s largest real estate development and investment firms.
California’s Great America LLC, an affiliate of amusement park operator Cedar Fair, sold the property, according to the public documents.
San Francisco-based Prologis also agreed to lease back to Cedar Fair the just-purchased chunk of land.
The term of the lease is six years, according to a Cedar Fair regulatory filing this week. Cedar Fair has the right to extend the lease for as much as five years, which means the amusement park would close no later than 11 years from now.
Cedar Fair’s annual rental payment to Prologis starts out at roughly $12.2 million and will increase by 2.5% each year, according to the SEC documents.
Ohio-based Cedar Fair is one of the nation’s largest operators of regional amusement parks. These businesses were devasted by the economic fallout from wide-ranging shutdowns ordered by government agencies to combat the coronavirus.
It’s possible that the Great America amusement park could close as soon as two years from now.
“The lease is subject to a right in favor of Prologis to terminate the lease early by providing at least two years’ prior notice,” Cedar Fair stated in the SEC filing on June 27.
