The so-called Elk Grove “ghost mall” in Elk Grove, Northern California is being demolished to make way for a tribal casino.
For a decade the “eyesore” visible from Highway 99 has moldered in limbo as the developer waited for funds that would allow it to continue building. Then, several years ago the Wilton Rancheria purchased land there and put the land into trust to make it reservation land and signed a compact with the state last year to build a casino resort. It will include dining, a hotel, spa and convention center. That compact was just approved by the Department of the Interior in January.
It was thought this would revive the mall, but the owners, the Howard Hughes Corp., failed to move forward. So the tribe has begun demolition on the $400 million casino resort that would be less than 40 miles from the California state capitol: Sacramento.
As the demolition began, tribal Chairman Raymond Hitchcock declared “We’re starting a new chapter moving closer to a brighter future for our tribal citizens the people of Elk Grove and the greater Sacramento region.”
The mall began its spectral existence as a retail mall but was cut short by the Great Recession. Earth movers halted their work in 2008. Howard Hughes Corp. bought the land in 2013 and made a deal with the city to restart the mall as a 63-acre outlet mall, using the same building plan. The tribe purchased the northern portion of the 200 acres in 2016.
Then last month the company told the city it is abandoning the mall. It filed for demolition permits and plans to destroy the remains of the mall by the end of this month.
At the demolition ceremony Mayor Steve Ly said, “This is a time to close the books on a complete failure. If it hadn’t been for the tribal council and their vision to move towards self-sufficiency … we would not be here today.”
The 700-member tribe has a very high unemployment problem, something it hopes will be partially alleviated by the casino. Hitch says construction on the casino will begin sometime in 2019.
Hitchcock said it’s time “to commence the removal of these apocalyptic structures here” minutes before cranes pulled apart the skeleton-like steel structure.
The facility, expected to open in 2020, will be developed in partnership with Boyd Gaming, with a 110,000 square foot gaming floor, 302-room hotel tower, restaurants and spa, plus the largest convention space outside of downtown Sacramento.
Hitchcock said construction will begin on the new casino resort later this year, bringing “a brighter future for our tribal citizens the people of Elk Grove and the greater Sacramento region.”
Boyd Gaming President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith said, “We congratulate the Wilton Rancheria for reaching this critical milestone in the tribe’s progress toward self-sufficiency. We look forward to working with them in the years ahead as we help make their vision of a world-class gaming resort a reality.”
