Developer Tells City It Will Demolish Unfinished 'Ghost Mall' In Elk Grove
ELK GROVE (CBS13) – After years in limbo, it looks as if the "Ghost Mall" at the edge of Elk Grove will be demolished.
The Howard Hughes Corporation, the mall's developer, told the City of Elk Grove on Tuesday that it intends to abandon the project and demolish the partially constructed building.
With the project being privately owned, City of Elk Grove officials noted they lacked the authority to approve or disapprove of the mall being demolished.
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"The City did everything within its power to move the project forward, but all decisions on the development of the mall ultimately rest with HHC," said Elk Grove Economic Development Director Darrell Doan in a statement.
It has been more than a decade since construction of the mall near Kammerer Road and Highway 99 stopped.
The first phase would have seen a 400,000 square foot mall with 21 tenants.
Years passed with several ideas being put forth towards revitalizing the project, including turning it into an outdoor outlet mall, but no visible progress was made. The project became known to Elk Grove residents as the "Ghost Mall."
Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly, in his recent state of the city address, gave the developer the ultimatum of "Build a mall or move on."
A property north of the mall site has been bought by the Wilton Rancheria tribe for a casino project. Construction for that is expected to begin later in 2019.