Friday, December 19, 2008

Waveyard waiting game

Waveyard was welcomed to Mesa with open arms after a resounding victory about 13 months ago. Now, they are having trouble securing the financing to get the project off the ground. This should not come as that big of a surprise based on the fact that everyone seems to be financial trouble right now, including most of the cities in the Valley. You are also seeing developers and homebuilders close up shop, so it gives you a fairly decent understanding of the economic climate.

However, the founders remain positive in their quest and believe that Waveyard will still be a reality. They have it right when they say, "It's not like (other) things are getting done and Waveyard is not." While that is true, it would be helpful for them to keep the community informed with their activities and how their plans are taking shape.

We really don't hear anything from Waveyard until Republic reporter Gary Nelson picks up the phone and asks. It sounds like the Mayor and City Manager receive regular updates, which is encouraging, but last time I checked, it was the voters who approved the project. This has been an issue I have covered before (here and here), but I still believe that there is a partnership between the folks behind Waveyard and the community which should be fostered. Its one thing for them to say that Waveyard will still get built, its another for them to show the community that they are committed to reaching their goal.

I understand that they are busy trying to make this thing happen, but it only makes sense that they should do what is necessary to make sure they are still a welcome part of the community when the finally open their doors. After all, one would expect that they would like a steady base of customers to actually come from Mesa.

1 comment:

Heath Reed said...

I agree, they should keep us more informed. I would like to see the final master plan, which I think is not done. I have emailed them and talked to them and they still feel confident that it will be built, but have hit a huge speed bump in the current credit market. I understand that, especially for something that is new and has not been proven. The market is full of skeptics due to current state of the economy, and they should be with this idea.

I still support it and hope that they can get it done. I just hope Mesa residents who are normally impatient on many issues continue to support it and wait to see what happens.

Hey, we still have the ball fields and golf course. It was a great agreement that Brady came up with to protect the city and its residents.