A Dubious Third Anniversary for the Elk Grove Promenade

Elk Grove Promenade - The crazy Uncle in the attic.

The crazy Uncle in the attic

Yesterday came and went without any fanfare marking the third anniversary of the halting of construction on the Elk Grove Promenade strip center.

EGN has pegged the construction halt date based on a published report from our colleagues at the Elk Grove Citizen who reported construction had halted on July 25, 2008.

During the last three years not only has construction halted, the Promenade’s developer, Chicago-based General Growth Property (GGP) filed the largest ever Chapter 11 real estate bankruptcy in American business history in early 2009.Subsequent to GGP's emergence from bankruptcy, the ill-fated overgrown strip center is now owned by the heirs of Howard Hughes.

Since then the project has languished and information on the fate of the strip center has been swept under the rug. The Elk Grove Promenade is the proverbial crazy Uncle hidden in the attic - everybody knows he is up there, but nobody wants to speak of him.

Such is the Elk Grove Promenade.

What official said ‘All three anchors are locked in’ and ‘It’s coming along nicely’? Name that City Official

There were however positive comments posted on Elk Grove Online in the months preceding and days following the halting of construction that tried painting a very rosy picture of the stranded ship the Promenade has become. This elected official using the handle egca95624 said:

2/07/2008 1-:21:47 AM

Okay, lets end some speculation here.

I just had a meeting yesterday afternoon with the mall developer and this is what I was told:

All three anchors are locked in as well as the two other announced majors, including another major that is pretty cool and will be announced sometime soon. There are some eateries that people are going to be excited about already committed. Most of the inline shops have solid deals, but some are coming back for sweeter openings, given the current climate.

Bear in mind, the conditions of approval require a certain # of "A" list stores and a certain # of "B" list stores, so there is only wiggle room with regard to which ones...

All things are a go for a March 19, 2009 grand opening.

I told him if he could make another run at a Dave & Busters or John's Incredible Pizza, or some other family/kid friendly entertainment eatery, that would probably score major brownie points.

Several months later, three years years ago Thursday to be exact, egca95624 posted the following comments on EGO regarding the status of the Elk Grove Promenade.

7/28/2008 12:23:48 AM

Holy crap!!!! Have you been down there recently?! It is coming along nicely, much more accessible than what I pictuered... This mall beckons you in from the Parkway. Sure, it's looking at fall 2009 for opening, but dayum, it's going to be sweet. For those pining for high end, I've heard names like Coach, Chico's, White House/Black Market, Ann Taylor, etc. As for eateries, I think we'll be happy...

Coach, Ann Taylor in Elk Grove? Hope does die last!

Curiously, this comment was posted after construction stopped as reported by the Elk Grove Citizen.

For those who are not regular participants’ on EGO and who have not guessed the identity of egca95624, perhaps the following posting regarding former Elk Grove City employee Pat Blacklock will help.

11/22/2009 2:27:33 PM

Pat is a prince among public servants! We were lucky to land him and while his loss is a great one to the City, it is a fortuitous move for he and his family. I wish him all the best and know that he will do as stellar a job for Yolo County as he has done here. Good luck, Mr. Blacklock - you are a shining star and damn fine example of pragmatic govermental leadership! -Pat Hume

For registered users of EGO, these comments can be found by doing a user search for egca95624, aka, Council Member Pat Hume.