It’s still too early to say what will become of the 515-acre site that the now-shuttered Six Flags America amusement park sits on in Bowie, but the Prince George’s County Council says it will work in partnership with the new owners to ensure that community voices are incorporated into the new development and the new development increases commercial revenue for the county.

At-Large council member Wala Blegay, the chair of the Prince George’s County Council’s planning, housing and economic development committee, said she’s been hearing concerns about the future of the site since Six Flags closed in November.

“I know that the community wants something that is not residential, but more of a destination, not just generally commercial, not like a regular shopping center,” Blegay said. “They want something that’s going to engage everyone. The Durant group did say that they were committed to making sure that there’s something for the youth and something for all ages.

“We have the zoning control, which hasn’t been set yet,” Blegay said. “They are still at our mercy with the zoning control. That does give us more leverage, and we’re going to use that.”

Prince George’s County native and NBA star Kevin Durant is part of a group that purchased the parcel.

In a statement, Wanda Durant, Kevin Durant’s mother and president of the Durant Family Foundation, said she will serve as an advocate for community interests in the project, “helping to ensure that community voices remain central as plans for the site come together.”

Residents are hoping that the new owners, which include Durant’s 35V and Atlanta-based real estate and investment firm TPA Group, make good on their promises to listen to community feedback. Many residents already have specific feedback.

“We don’t need another Gold’s Gym. We don’t need another chicken place. We need things for the community,” Bowie resident Marecya Burton said.

Burton, whose family has been in Bowie for nearly 25 years and were season pass holders at Six Flags for a time, says she wants a destination that “serves the community” and is a safe place for teens to go.

“I think there should be a place for some walking trails, or some sort of outdoor activity space,” Burton said. “I love Allen Pond in Bowie for what it’s able to provide for the Bowie community. They have lots of programming there. They have Sunday concerts that you can go to with your family, those types of things. A place where the community can come and enjoy themselves, I truly think, would be stellar.”

Kevin Smith is a Prince George’s County native who worked at Six Flags as a teen. Smith said there aren’t many places in the county where people can gather for a good time that doesn’t require a trip to D.C. Six Flags was a vital attraction.

Smith said he wants to see more variety in the businesses the county has, rather than more housing developments.

“In Prince George’s County, we already have a bunch of houses,” Smith said. “They’re stacking townhouses on top of townhouses, apartment complexes, all that type of stuff.”

Ryan Butler is a managing partner with Coalition Properties Group, a real estate firm based in the D.C. metro area. About 60% of its business is in Prince George’s County. Butler says he can understand why people might not want more townhouses built in the area and why some might.

“For people who want to enter the dream of home ownership, a townhome is one of the more affordable ways to do that,” Butler said. “And at the same time, if you look at Prince George’s County, there’s still certain food deserts, there’s entertainment deserts, there’s different segments that are even medical deserts.”

Blegay said that it’s a top priority for the plan to increase commercial revenue, which accounts for less than 30% of the county’s revenue, adding that turning the Six Flags into housing would go against that.

“Most of our revenues come from residential taxes, which means less money overall,” she said.

Rich Kleiman, one of the co-founders of 35V, said in a statement that the team has invested in Prince George’s County for many years and that they plan to build something that “combines scale with real impact”.

“We’re looking forward to working with our partners at TPA and the entire community to create positive economic opportunity for the region,” Kleiman said.

Blegay emphasized that the council has had only one meeting with the new owners, and the project is still in its early stages.

“We are telling people this is a long-term process, that if they have concerns about what they want to see, they got to come to the town hall meetings and fill out the surveys,” Blegay said.