LAWTON Okla_ It's a "go" for the construction of
phase two of Lawton's 2nd Street project, a shopping center between Bell and Euclid
Avenues.
That's
what members of the Lawton Economic Development Authority (LEDA) announced in a
meeting today at City Hall. They say all the financial and legal documents are
in place to start building.
LEDA
said building of the new shopping center will most likely start next month, but
before they can do that, they have to close the deal. They hope to do that next
week.
For months, work crews have been busy on 2nd Street,
clearing away rubble and leveling off land for both the hotel and conference
center and the shopping complex. Mayor Fred Fitch told LEDA Thursday crews can
finally start putting up buildings.
"This
is tremendous for us," Mayor Fitch said. "We're excited about it. It's been a
long, long go."
He
said he's not the only one breathing a sigh of relief. The project's lawyer, Dan
Batchelor is, too.
"It
represents the significant community achievement in the face of a lot of
difficulties totally beyond the control of the community and project,"
Batchelor said. "The great recession was a tremendous barrier of ever putting
this project together, yet here we are. It's coming together."
Batchelor
said it also represents a commitment by city leaders and the community to come
together for a vision and make it reality.
"That
makes it special," Batchelor said. "I do believe that it stimulates a lot of
future benefits for this community."
Mayor
Fitch said getting the project to this point hasn't been easy, but it was well
worth the fight.
"Working
with all the retailers, working with the developers, the hotel conference
center, it's been very demanding and very exciting," Fitch said. "One day you
go home, and you're down. The next day, you're back up again. So, there are a
lot of ups and downs and a lot of hurdles. So, we've gotten over all the
hurdles."
Mayor
Fitch said the closing for Phase Two is next Tuesday. If all goes well, the
next step will be constructing several new retail shops.
Mayor
Fred Fitch said LEDA has already closed on the hotel and convention center. Construction
for that is expected to start in April and will take about a year to build. In
fact, the hotel has already booked 300 guests for July 2014.
