Eric de Groot (left) and Peter Verdaasdonk. Photo by Mike Rast Jr.

Tourists view the miniature version of Amsterdam’s concert hall. Photo courtesy of Eric de Groot.

Distinctive U.S. landmarks could be making their way—in miniature—into a new Atlanta-area theme park, if Dutch businesspeople can sell the idea to Georgia officials, businesspeople and the public.

Peter Verdaasdonk, managing director of Madurodam BV, a “miniature city” amusement park in The Hague, Netherlands, visited Atlanta April 24-25 to explore the possibility of building a U.S.-themed attraction in the area.

Madurodam features replicas of buildings across the Netherlands at one-twenty-fifth the size, providing a panorama of famous places around the country, a concept that Mr. Verdaasdonk wants to duplicate in the U.S.

“We are trying to expand to maximize the potential of our business,” he told GlobalAtlanta.  “So we decided to explore mini-cities abroad.”

Eric de Groot, an Amsterdam native and managing director of the Atlanta-based consulting agency Holland America Chamber, has organized meetings in the Netherlands for Georgia officials to promote tourism in the state and is hosting Mr. Verdaasdonk during his trip.

The two met with officials from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and representatives of Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., the company that jointly operates Stone Mountain Park with the state, to discuss the possibilities and issues involved in building a mini-city in the Atlanta area, a market that Mr. Verdaasdonk said is a good fit for the concept.

“I think this region needs more tourist attractions,” he said.  “Some people think this concept of miniature and the U.S.A. don’t marry, but we think it can be done, and we think many people will like it.”

If a miniature city is built in Atlanta, it would join a number of similar parks around the world. 

Mr. Verdaasdonk is president of the International Association of Miniature Parks, a partnership of 16 independent miniature city amusement parks worldwide, including nationally-themed sites in Israel, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey; Mini-Europe in Brussels, Belgium and Minimundus, a “miniature world” concept in Carinthia, Austria.

Tanya Dunne, communications director at the Metro Chamber, said it supports the project as one of its economic development projects led by Jorge Fernandez, the chamber’s vice president for global commerce.

The organizers are already brainstorming about which buildings to place in the park and looking for about 50 acres in the Atlanta area to build it.

The U.S. park would feature distinctive Atlanta buildings such as the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel and Georgia-Pacific Tower as well as others from around the country.

“Imagine being able to walk from New York to Los Angeles in about 48 minutes,” Mr. de Groot said, describing his idea for the park.

Mr. Verdaasdonk said that construction of the mini-city would cost $20-25 million, but that much of the funding could come from corporations sponsoring buildings in the park.

Madurodam consists of 80 percent historic buildings and 20 percent modern, many of the latter sponsored by corporate owners.  Because many U.S. buildings are younger than Dutch landmarks, this would allow for many more sponsorships.

Mr. de Groot and Mr. Verdaasdonk have a list of corporate and historic buildings that could be included in the park, and met with Georgia Power and representatives from Amsterdam-based Randstad Holding N.V.’s Atlanta office to discuss partnership possibilities. The organizers plan to involve other U.S. and Netherlands-based companies as the project progresses.

Mr. Verdaasdonk said that a U.S. mini-city would be built in phases and that the first could be opened within two years of when construction begins.

The one-twenty-fifth scale used at Madurodam is to be repeated in the U.S. park, though some skyscrapers might have to be smaller. 

One example at Madurodam is a replica of the 333-feet-tall air traffic control tower at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the tallest in the world at the time of its construction in 1991, which stands at 13 feet in the miniature city.

Some of the Dutch park’s attractions come to life at the drop of a 10-cent Euro coin, including a street organ at Drenthe and Mars Inc.’s chocolate factory in Veghel, providing an interactive element that would be included in a U.S. version.