Fort Myers, Florida - Zoomers, the nearly-completed Family Amusement Park in Fort Myers, has been dormant but 90% complete since 2007. Despite the park’s notoriety in the area as a landmark, the park itself has never operated after a number of different owners failed to complete and open the park. In 2007, construction came to a halt when owner Ronald Heromin couldn’t get any more funding due to $15 million in debt that he had built up on the park.

The park is currently under contract with a buyer who purchased it for $1.385 million last week at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) auction, as reported by news-press.com. The park was sold to a man who wanted to revive the project and get the park open, but the properties sales agent and the man have only 30 days from the auction to close the deal. The FDIC acquired the park when it began shutting down failed banks that went on lending sprees in the early 2000s, and acquired failed properties like Zoomers along with them.

But not everyone remains so optimistic about the property. Ed Bonkowski, a local real estate broker, told news-press.com that “The concept is birthdays and disposable income. I don’t think they exist right now.” He went on to say he saw the project as doomed from the start for those reasons, and continues to feel that way.

According to NBC-2, local businesses seem to have a more optimistic view, seeing the park’s opening as a potential boost in their own business by bringing in more tourists. They also see the fact that the project is not dead and perhaps on the upswing again as a sign that the area may be recovering from its economic downfall a few years ago. The biggest thing the park has going for it right now is the fact that everyone in the area has heard of Zoomers and already knows where it is, which means the park could already have a following early in its opening.

The park will obviously still require quite a bit of work and even rebuilding, as the harsh, humid Florida climate has done damage to the property since construction was halted, but the majority of the work is already done. Stay tuned to COASTER-net.com for more details about the project's progress.