There was an informal presentation made by the owners of about 200 acres of property right smack dab on the spot where the proposed Kingman Crossing interchange along Interstate 40 might go (hopefully in the very near future). Representatives from Vestar Development and Vanderbilt Farms introduced themselves to the council at 5:00pm before the scheduled city council meeting starting at 6:00pm.
Neither representative offered any specific developed plans to the public or the council, it was more of an introductory affair. The guests stated what their vision is for their property if the city manages to get the go ahead to build the new interchange. It would be a large commercial project for retail, business, dining and entertainment complex to the eventual tune of nearly 900,000 square feet of space.
David Larcher of Vestar did most of the presentation and answered a some questions from the council. The firms own about 200 acres on the north side of Interstate 40 and plan a multi-phase commercial development that could include retail offerings such as Costco or Sam's, a Target and Lowes type of store, plenty of dining, business office suites, and maybe even a multi-plex theater. <---- OH NELLY!!
I was mildly surprised by the anti-growth council members, including the mayor, for some of the things they shared. Surprised in a good way. I think they must see the value of a project like this coming our way. Of course they made sure to let these firms know that the city was dead broke and wouldn't be able to add one cent to the project and other things along those lines.
Councilman Deering tried to get a gauge on how long Vestar and Vanderbilt Farms would be willing to wait before they could get a start on this project, hoping (I'm sure) to hear them say that if the city didn't get the interchange done in some amount of time then the project would be kaput. Councilwoman Watson asked how big of an undertaking this particular situation would be as compared to the many other projects these firms have dealt with in the past. I don't know her real reaction when Mr. Larcher said (paraphrasing) that he has never been involved in an easy deal where a municipality fronts all the money and otherwise rolls out all the red carpet they could... but he is always looking for such a project (I laughed). Larcher also implied that the challenges that lie ahead for this project are not any more difficult than in most other project he has been involved in.
Once the presentation was complete, Beverly Liles from the Kingman Chamber of Commerce reported findings from a poll taken of chamber members to the council. There were four questions posed to the members that basically asked the opinion on such a project coming to the Kingman area. She reported that the solid majority of other business owners in the Kingman area that responded to the survey were in support of the entire undertaking. I think that 99% of the respondents wished to have the city see to it that the interchange be built. I'm hoping that some of this comes out in the media over the next few days and I'll link back to it (if they bother with these pro-growth facts at all).
I will be offering more information on the Kingman Crossing Interchange as it becomes available. This is simply the highest priority that faces the growing city today. The interchange will bring all kinds of opportunity to Kingman (and it will even create tax revenue for our dead beat broke city).
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