Sunday, October 22, 2006

Casa Grande Good News

Good news for all Casa Grande residents and snowbirds! This article appeared in yesterday's Casa Grande Dispatch. Finally we get news about the big shopping mall heading our way.
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Work set on mall next week
Staff Reports, Casa Grande Dispatch
October 21, 2006


The first turning of dirt for The Promenade at Casa Grande regional shopping center should begin next week, one of the developers said.

The million-plus-square-foot center will be at the northeast corner of Florence Boulevard and Interstate 10. It is being constructed as a partnership between The Pederson Group and Westcor Development Partners.

"Our contractor is preparing to pre-water the site and is mobilizing to start moving dirt next week," Gary Pederson, vice president of The Pederson Group, said Friday.

Pederson said a WDP representative would have more details next week.

The initial fact sheet for the project said, "The developer is currently attempting to keep the project on an aggressive schedule to commence construction in the summer of 2006 and open the project in the fall of 2007."

A major portion of the work was widening the Florence/I-10 overpass, which city officials said may have caused some delay because of its complexity.

Shortly before the Pederson/WDP announcement of the major center, a group known as Palm Creek Development said it would build a 264,000-square-foot center along Florence Boulevard in front of Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort.

In February 2005, shortly after the Pederson/WDP announcement, Rick Horwitch, principal partner of Palm Creek Development, said his group was not afraid of the competition from a larger project.

"By the time they're ready to operate, we're going to be up and out of the ground and full," Horwitch said.

More than a year and a half later, dirt has not been turned for the Palm Creek project. City officials said they had not heard from Horwitch's group and presume the project is dead.