Questions and answers was the theme of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce economic development forum Tuesday afternoon at Eastfield College. Representatives from the city posed a series of commonly asked questions and used a presentation to answer these questions.
“We changed the format to this informal quiz idea because I can’t tell you next month that ABC Corporation is coming. In this market environment that [certainty] is just not there,” said Tom Palmer, manager of community development for the City of Mesquite.
The three projects that Palmer said he gets questions about the most are the Peachtree Town Center development, the Big Town Mall project and State Highway 190 / Loop 9.
Palmer said that workers have finished a bridge in the Peachtree development to provide easier access, and the infrastructure is in place for development. He said that once the market rebounds, the city hopes to have a full service hotel, medical building and offices begin construction in the center.
Palmer said the Big Town developers are trying to acquire the capital to complete the project. He said that they have part of the capital raised and are waiting until they have all of it before proceeding with plans to purchase the property.
Palmer discussed the current construction of State Highway 190 into Garland and the future plans to extend the freeway through Mesquite and tie in to the Loop 9 project that is scheduled to begin at I-20 and go through southeast Dallas. He said there is no timeframe in place and the city is waiting on North Texas Tollway Authority and the Texas Department of Transportation to discuss plans and set a date to begin construction.
Palmer drew applause from the crowd when he talked about the Town East / I-635 construction scheduled to be finished next month.
“Let’s have a hallelujah!” Palmer said. “I hope you like it. It is pretty and unique and has a distinct Mesquite flavor to it.”
The project was originally part of the LBJ project and scheduled to be done in 2015, but TxDOT sped up the project after the City of Mesquite put local money into it.
Palmer also talked about the addition of BJ’s restaurant in Town East Mall and the impact it will have on the city. Palmer said that the success of BJ’s could allow for other high end restaurants to come into the city.
“It will be the go-to restaurant in Mesquite, Texas,” Palmer said.
Other recent developments mentioned were the new Super Target and renovation of the Market East shopping center. Palmer said the shopping center is more than 20 years old and was the first power center in the Metroplex.
Daren Watkins, Mesquite’s special events/economic development director, shared a few success stories that the city has had with economic development. Watkins highlighted the success of Fritz-Pak, which
manufactures concrete additives. Watkins discussed the new 55,000-square-foot Phase II construction by the new police station that will house the new city hall. He also talked about the expansion of Dallas Regional Medical Center with the addition of the cardiac center and plans to build a new office structure across from the medical center.
Palmer discussed the additions of Harbor Tools and World Food Market and cafe that recently opened on Gus Thomasson in the old Save-A-Lot location.
He also said that an Aldi grocery store will open in the spring of 2010 at the intersection of Gus Thomasson Road and Driftwood Drive, a location that once housed a Rainbow grocery store.
“That will be by far the best looking grocery store anywhere in their system,” Palmer said.
Palmer said that the Bennigan’s location at the intersection of Peachtree Road and Galloway Avenue will be torn down to make way for a new Cheddars restaurant. He also discussed the additions of Discount Tire and IHOP on Greenway by Wal-Mart. He said that a lot of people think that the location is Garland but it is actually in Mesquite.
“That is going to be the most beautiful Discount Tire that you will ever see,” Palmer said.
Palmer talked about the restorations underway at Opal Lawrence Park. He talked about Historic Mesquite moving into the range house on the property so that there can be more activities at the park.
Palmer discussed the new data center that is going to replace the Lineage Power building on Skyline Drive. He talked about the value of the contents inside a data center and the tax revenue that will be generated for the city. He said that the Mesquite center will be among the five largest in the U.S.
As far as future residential developments in the city, Palmer discussed the Lucas Farms and Ridge Ranch developments, the rehabbing of the Truman Heights neighborhood and the future development in the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Palmer also discussed the plans to add regional rail service through downtown Mesquite, Terrell and Forney that would tie into Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s green line in Dallas.
Judy Skowron, Mesquite Convention and Visitors Bureau director, addressed the importance of tourism to the success of Mesquite as a city.
Skowron talked about the economic impact that just one person can have on the economy of Mesquite. She said that in 2007, visitors spent $196.3 million in the city. She stated that tourism created around 17,000 jobs in 2007.
Watkins informed the audience about the success of the Real.Texas.Festival. He said that attendance in 2009 was 23,000 people, which almost doubled the number of attendees from 2008. Watkins said around $486,000 was spent at the 2008 festival.
“This thing is going to be big. If we can just stay out of our own way it is going to be awesome,” Watkins said. | 
