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Super Wal-Mart gearing up
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Township commissioners are expected Monday to approve developer agreements both for a revamped Highlands Mall and a 300-unit Oakridge Estates housing plan.
The new mall will be built on the site of the previous Highlands Mall off of Freeport Road, and it will retain the Highlands Mall name.
However, it will be three times as large, Payne said.
The new 25-acre retail complex will house Roomful Express furniture, two other large retailers, two restaurants, two fast-food restaurants, an ice-cream parlor and gas station in addition to the Super Wal-Mart. Construction is estimated to cost between $16 million and $20 million.
The developer said last month that stores will open in time for Christmas 2007.
To accommodate the new mall's sprawl, a hillside near the existing mall will be blasted away.
Commissioner William Poston said he doesn't expect the new mall to draw customers away from the Heights Plaza Shopping Center a few miles south, also off of Freeport Road.
Rather, Poston said, the mall will attract new consumers to the township.
"I don't think it's going to hurt," he said. "I think it's going to be a great asset to the community."
Poston said he wasn't sure when the Oakridge Estates housing plan on Oak Manor Drive will be completed, though he expects the four-phase construction plan to be stretched out over a few years.
Ultimately, 300 single-family homes and townhouses will occupy the plan.
The townhouses are slated to be built first, Poston said.
"They're probably going to be the nicest things in the whole place," he said.
In other news:
It was unclear how much money the township is asking for, though Payne said commissioners expect the ballfield renovation to cost about $60,000.
Commissioners are expected to vote Monday to ban parking officially there, though signs are already in place.
No homes are in the area of the restricted parking.
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