Years of pursuit, planning to pay off
for city, officials say
05:48 PM CST on Wednesday, January 7, 2004
At last. Dirt is finally being cleared at the future home of Garland's
long-awaited regional mall, the Firewheel Town Center at State Highway
78 and the Bush Turnpike.
"It's happening," said Paul Mayer, president of the Garland
Chamber of Commerce. While city officials and Simon Property Group executives have
been working on the town center for five or six years, Mr. Mayer said,
pursuit of a mall goes back 25 years or more. The mall is a key to
development in the Bush Turnpike corridor, Garland's "last frontier" of
large tracts of undeveloped land. "It is our future in terms of growth," Mr. Mayer said. "Not
to diminish the I-30 corridor and redevelopment opportunities
elsewhere, but just because of the sheer quantity of land and the
impact of 190 [Bush Turnpike]." Les Morris, spokesman for Simon Property Group, said plans
for a formal groundbreaking had yet to be finalized. Mayor Bob Day said he planned to be there whenever the
groundbreaking takes place, even if it is at 2 a.m. "I'm delighted, ecstatic, and all the adjectives I can think
of," Mr. Day said. "It's something the city has been working on and
needing for years. "It is probably the biggest impact on the city in the last 15
years. It ranks right up there with the decision to build 190 in terms
of a major impact on the city." Mr. Day said the latest information he had was that the mall
was expected to open in fall 2005, in time for the Christmas shopping
season. According to Mr. Mayer, the mall will add 1 million square
feet of new retail and 75,000 square feet of office space to the city's
tax base. An additional 700,000 to 800,000 square feet of development
will be gained in the immediate area. "It will mean millions of dollars in sales taxes plus
property taxes," he said. E-mail rabshire@dallasnews.com
or call 972-272-6591, ext. 244. 
Earth-moving machines have begun grade work
and a construction company trailer is on the site.
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Last Updated: 8/01/2004 1:38PM