Plans for a big Gaylord resort in Mesa may be revived

A year ago, the idea of a mega-resort in southeast Mesa looked deader than Lazarus.

The company that had aimed to build it was no longer developing resorts, the travel economy was still in the pits and four years’ worth of dust had settled on the ambitious plan.

Now, there are stirrings of a resurrection.

The 1,250-room resort, with a conference center of at least 200,000 square feet, was to have been built by Gaylord Entertainment Co. of Nashville on the north end of the former General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Five square miles of the GM site are being redeveloped by DMB Associates of Scottsdale, which bought the land in 2006 and immediately began laying plans for a mixed-use, master-planned community.

The grand kickoff for the upscale development was supposed to have been the Gaylord. Plans for the hotel, a second high-end resort and other amenities were announced during a glitzy news conference in early September 2008 at the Mesa Arts Center. The overall price tag was pegged at $1 billion or more.

Read more: Plans for a big Gaylord resort in Mesa may be revived

Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

What many Mesa residents had long feared now seems inevitable:

A world-class resort and conference center on the north end of the former General Motors Desert Proving Ground probably never will be built as originally planned.

As phone calls ricochet among Mesa officials, the Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates, which owns the property, that is the clearest statement that can be made about fallout from last week's announcement that Gaylord is getting out of the resort-development business.

The Nashville-based company knocked Mesa's socks off in September 2008 when it announced it would build a hotel of at least 1,200 rooms and an adjoining convention center. Coupled with another resort, a championship golf course and high-end retail, Mesa officials estimated a total investment of about $1billion.

That was to have been the grand kickoff for DMB's development of 5 square miles of former GM land, a project now known as Eastmark.

Mesa voters endorsed the plan and its associated tax incentives by an 84-16 percent vote in March 2009.

The original deadline for breaking ground was Dec. 31, 2011. The Great Recession forced Mesa to extend that by three years as Gaylord struggled through the downturn.

Now, according to Mayor Scott Smith, even the extended deadline may be a moot point.

Gaylord said last week that it will sell its hotel brand and operating rights to Marriott International Inc. for $210million.

Gaylord will still own the four mega-resorts among which it rotates conventions and business shows. Operating as a real-estate investment trust, Gaylord will no longer develop properties on its own.

The plan takes effect Jan.1 if shareholders agree.

At the very least, Smith said, the sale might mean the Mesa resort being financed by a third party, but only time will answer the many questions raised by Gaylord's decision.
Among those questions: The degree of Marriott's willingness to back a large Mesa resort when it already operates the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, a 950-room hotel with 240,000 square feet of meeting space and 10 restaurants in Phoenix.

Even if there is an eventual green light, Smith said, Mesa's resort "may be physically different, and it certainly will be financially very different."

The package of incentives that Mesa voters approved may prove attractive to another company wanting to build a resort there, Smith said.

Gaylord was promised up to $44million in bed-tax rebates, and a second resort would be entitled to up to $7million, to be used to market their properties and Mesa tourism.
In addition, Mesa promised to buy both resorts and the convention center for $5,000 apiece, leasing them back to the companies for $5,000 a year per property.

That would trigger a tax break called a government-property lease excise tax.

Property-tax savings for Gaylord over 50 years were put at $72million and for the second resort, $13.5 million.

To what degree those arrangements could transfer to another company is uncertain, however.

Mesa executed a development agreement with DMB and Gaylord in 2008 that required Gaylord itself to build a hotel and conference center to certain minimum specifications, and assigning tax breaks specifically to that company.

Language regarding the second resort was not as precise.

Even if the business-travel economy and room rates don't recover to the point of making a Gaylord-scale resort feasible, Smith said the Gateway area will someday need high-end lodging.

Passenger counts at the nearby airport are soaring, other firms are building in the area and DMB already has broken ground for housing at Eastmark.

"We didn't sit back and wait for Gaylord to happen, thinking Gaylord was the only way we could kick-start Gateway," Smith said.

"We'll go on to Plan B, C and D. We believe there will be a major resort facility there. When? We don't know. Who? We don't know."

By Gary Nelson, The Republic|azcentral.com Jun 9 2012


Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

What many Mesa residents had long feared now seems inevitable:

A world-class resort and conference center on the north end of the former General Motors Desert Proving Ground probably never will be built as originally planned.

As phone calls ricochet among Mesa officials, the Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates, which owns the property, that is the clearest statement that can be made about fallout from last week's announcement that Gaylord is getting out of the resort-development business.

The Nashville-based company knocked Mesa's socks off in September 2008 when it announced it would build a hotel of at least 1,200 rooms and an adjoining convention center. Coupled with another resort, a championship golf course and high-end retail, Mesa officials estimated a total investment of about $1billion.

That was to have been the grand kickoff for DMB's development of 5 square miles of former GM land, a project now known as Eastmark.

Mesa voters endorsed the plan and its associated tax incentives by an 84-16 percent vote in March 2009.

The original deadline for breaking ground was Dec. 31, 2011. The Great Recession forced Mesa to extend that by three years as Gaylord struggled through the downturn.

Now, according to Mayor Scott Smith, even the extended deadline may be a moot point.

Gaylord said last week that it will sell its hotel brand and operating rights to Marriott International Inc. for $210million.

Gaylord will still own the four mega-resorts among which it rotates conventions and business shows. Operating as a real-estate investment trust, Gaylord will no longer develop properties on its own.

The plan takes effect Jan.1 if shareholders agree.

At the very least, Smith said, the sale might mean the Mesa resort being financed by a third party, but only time will answer the many questions raised by Gaylord's decision.
Among those questions: The degree of Marriott's willingness to back a large Mesa resort when it already operates the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, a 950-room hotel with 240,000 square feet of meeting space and 10 restaurants in Phoenix.

Even if there is an eventual green light, Smith said, Mesa's resort "may be physically different, and it certainly will be financially very different."

The package of incentives that Mesa voters approved may prove attractive to another company wanting to build a resort there, Smith said.

Gaylord was promised up to $44million in bed-tax rebates, and a second resort would be entitled to up to $7million, to be used to market their properties and Mesa tourism.
In addition, Mesa promised to buy both resorts and the convention center for $5,000 apiece, leasing them back to the companies for $5,000 a year per property.

That would trigger a tax break called a government-property lease excise tax.

Property-tax savings for Gaylord over 50 years were put at $72million and for the second resort, $13.5 million.

To what degree those arrangements could transfer to another company is uncertain, however.

Mesa executed a development agreement with DMB and Gaylord in 2008 that required Gaylord itself to build a hotel and conference center to certain minimum specifications, and assigning tax breaks specifically to that company.

Language regarding the second resort was not as precise.

Even if the business-travel economy and room rates don't recover to the point of making a Gaylord-scale resort feasible, Smith said the Gateway area will someday need high-end lodging.

Passenger counts at the nearby airport are soaring, other firms are building in the area and DMB already has broken ground for housing at Eastmark.

"We didn't sit back and wait for Gaylord to happen, thinking Gaylord was the only way we could kick-start Gateway," Smith said.

"We'll go on to Plan B, C and D. We believe there will be a major resort facility there. When? We don't know. Who? We don't know."

By Gary Nelson, The Republic|azcentral.com Jun 9 2012


Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

What many Mesa residents had long feared now seems inevitable:

A world-class resort and conference center on the north end of the former General Motors Desert Proving Ground probably never will be built as originally planned.

As phone calls ricochet among Mesa officials, the Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates, which owns the property, that is the clearest statement that can be made about fallout from last week's announcement that Gaylord is getting out of the resort-development business.

The Nashville-based company knocked Mesa's socks off in September 2008 when it announced it would build a hotel of at least 1,200 rooms and an adjoining convention center. Coupled with another resort, a championship golf course and high-end retail, Mesa officials estimated a total investment of about $1billion.

That was to have been the grand kickoff for DMB's development of 5 square miles of former GM land, a project now known as Eastmark.

Mesa voters endorsed the plan and its associated tax incentives by an 84-16 percent vote in March 2009.

The original deadline for breaking ground was Dec. 31, 2011. The Great Recession forced Mesa to extend that by three years as Gaylord struggled through the downturn.

Now, according to Mayor Scott Smith, even the extended deadline may be a moot point.

Gaylord said last week that it will sell its hotel brand and operating rights to Marriott International Inc. for $210million.

Gaylord will still own the four mega-resorts among which it rotates conventions and business shows. Operating as a real-estate investment trust, Gaylord will no longer develop properties on its own.

The plan takes effect Jan.1 if shareholders agree.

At the very least, Smith said, the sale might mean the Mesa resort being financed by a third party, but only time will answer the many questions raised by Gaylord's decision.
Among those questions: The degree of Marriott's willingness to back a large Mesa resort when it already operates the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, a 950-room hotel with 240,000 square feet of meeting space and 10 restaurants in Phoenix.

Even if there is an eventual green light, Smith said, Mesa's resort "may be physically different, and it certainly will be financially very different."

The package of incentives that Mesa voters approved may prove attractive to another company wanting to build a resort there, Smith said.

Gaylord was promised up to $44million in bed-tax rebates, and a second resort would be entitled to up to $7million, to be used to market their properties and Mesa tourism.
In addition, Mesa promised to buy both resorts and the convention center for $5,000 apiece, leasing them back to the companies for $5,000 a year per property.

That would trigger a tax break called a government-property lease excise tax.

Property-tax savings for Gaylord over 50 years were put at $72million and for the second resort, $13.5 million.

To what degree those arrangements could transfer to another company is uncertain, however.

Mesa executed a development agreement with DMB and Gaylord in 2008 that required Gaylord itself to build a hotel and conference center to certain minimum specifications, and assigning tax breaks specifically to that company.

Language regarding the second resort was not as precise.

Even if the business-travel economy and room rates don't recover to the point of making a Gaylord-scale resort feasible, Smith said the Gateway area will someday need high-end lodging.

Passenger counts at the nearby airport are soaring, other firms are building in the area and DMB already has broken ground for housing at Eastmark.

"We didn't sit back and wait for Gaylord to happen, thinking Gaylord was the only way we could kick-start Gateway," Smith said.

"We'll go on to Plan B, C and D. We believe there will be a major resort facility there. When? We don't know. Who? We don't know."

By Gary Nelson, The Republic|azcentral.com Jun 9 2012


Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

What many Mesa residents had long feared now seems inevitable:

A world-class resort and conference center on the north end of the former General Motors Desert Proving Ground probably never will be built as originally planned.

As phone calls ricochet among Mesa officials, the Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates, which owns the property, that is the clearest statement that can be made about fallout from last week's announcement that Gaylord is getting out of the resort-development business.

The Nashville-based company knocked Mesa's socks off in September 2008 when it announced it would build a hotel of at least 1,200 rooms and an adjoining convention center. Coupled with another resort, a championship golf course and high-end retail, Mesa officials estimated a total investment of about $1billion.

That was to have been the grand kickoff for DMB's development of 5 square miles of former GM land, a project now known as Eastmark.

Mesa voters endorsed the plan and its associated tax incentives by an 84-16 percent vote in March 2009.

The original deadline for breaking ground was Dec. 31, 2011. The Great Recession forced Mesa to extend that by three years as Gaylord struggled through the downturn.

Now, according to Mayor Scott Smith, even the extended deadline may be a moot point.

Gaylord said last week that it will sell its hotel brand and operating rights to Marriott International Inc. for $210million.

Gaylord will still own the four mega-resorts among which it rotates conventions and business shows. Operating as a real-estate investment trust, Gaylord will no longer develop properties on its own.

The plan takes effect Jan.1 if shareholders agree.

At the very least, Smith said, the sale might mean the Mesa resort being financed by a third party, but only time will answer the many questions raised by Gaylord's decision.
Among those questions: The degree of Marriott's willingness to back a large Mesa resort when it already operates the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, a 950-room hotel with 240,000 square feet of meeting space and 10 restaurants in Phoenix.

Even if there is an eventual green light, Smith said, Mesa's resort "may be physically different, and it certainly will be financially very different."

The package of incentives that Mesa voters approved may prove attractive to another company wanting to build a resort there, Smith said.

Gaylord was promised up to $44million in bed-tax rebates, and a second resort would be entitled to up to $7million, to be used to market their properties and Mesa tourism.
In addition, Mesa promised to buy both resorts and the convention center for $5,000 apiece, leasing them back to the companies for $5,000 a year per property.

That would trigger a tax break called a government-property lease excise tax.

Property-tax savings for Gaylord over 50 years were put at $72million and for the second resort, $13.5 million.

To what degree those arrangements could transfer to another company is uncertain, however.

Mesa executed a development agreement with DMB and Gaylord in 2008 that required Gaylord itself to build a hotel and conference center to certain minimum specifications, and assigning tax breaks specifically to that company.

Language regarding the second resort was not as precise.

Even if the business-travel economy and room rates don't recover to the point of making a Gaylord-scale resort feasible, Smith said the Gateway area will someday need high-end lodging.

Passenger counts at the nearby airport are soaring, other firms are building in the area and DMB already has broken ground for housing at Eastmark.

"We didn't sit back and wait for Gaylord to happen, thinking Gaylord was the only way we could kick-start Gateway," Smith said.

"We'll go on to Plan B, C and D. We believe there will be a major resort facility there. When? We don't know. Who? We don't know."

By Gary Nelson, The Republic|azcentral.com Jun 9 2012


Mesa must downsize hopes for big resort - USATODAY.com

Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

The company that was planning an $800 million resort and conference center in southeast Mesa appears to be getting out of the resort -development business.

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand, along with rights to manage its four existing hotels, to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Gaylord officials said, they will revamp the company's business model to cease being a developer of multimillion-dollar resorts and become a real-estate investment trust, or REIT.

A REIT pools investor money to buy or develop revenue-generating properties, with proceeds distributed to investors as dividends.

Gaylord officials did not say whether the restructuring, to be completed by Jan. 1 if shareholders approve, would put an end to the already-postponed Mesa resort plans for land owned by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates.

Still, a company news release issued Thursday did say the transition to a REIT would halt existing plans to develop a resort of similar size and cost in Colorado.

"The company will no longer view large-scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with the Colorado project in the form previously anticipated," the release said. "The company will re-examine how the project could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase."

DMB Associates spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said it's too early to tell how Gaylord's proposed restructuring might affect the Mesa plans.

"It appears that shareholders will still have to approve this proposed deal later this summer," Campana said. "It sounds like this will be a wait-and-see."

Last July, Gaylord executives reassured DMB and city officials including Mesa Mayor Scott Smith that the company still intended to build the resort despite postponing the project until economic conditions improved.

Smith and the other local officials had traveled to Gaylord's Nashville headquarters that month to address a growing concern that the resort never would be built.

by J. Craig Anderson - May. 31, 2012 06:20 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

The company that was planning an $800 million resort and conference center in southeast Mesa appears to be getting out of the resort -development business.

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand, along with rights to manage its four existing hotels, to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Gaylord officials said, they will revamp the company's business model to cease being a developer of multimillion-dollar resorts and become a real-estate investment trust, or REIT.

A REIT pools investor money to buy or develop revenue-generating properties, with proceeds distributed to investors as dividends.

Gaylord officials did not say whether the restructuring, to be completed by Jan. 1 if shareholders approve, would put an end to the already-postponed Mesa resort plans for land owned by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates.

Still, a company news release issued Thursday did say the transition to a REIT would halt existing plans to develop a resort of similar size and cost in Colorado.

"The company will no longer view large-scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with the Colorado project in the form previously anticipated," the release said. "The company will re-examine how the project could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase."

DMB Associates spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said it's too early to tell how Gaylord's proposed restructuring might affect the Mesa plans.

"It appears that shareholders will still have to approve this proposed deal later this summer," Campana said. "It sounds like this will be a wait-and-see."

Last July, Gaylord executives reassured DMB and city officials including Mesa Mayor Scott Smith that the company still intended to build the resort despite postponing the project until economic conditions improved.

Smith and the other local officials had traveled to Gaylord's Nashville headquarters that month to address a growing concern that the resort never would be built.

by J. Craig Anderson - May. 31, 2012 06:20 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

The company that was planning an $800 million resort and conference center in southeast Mesa appears to be getting out of the resort -development business.

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand, along with rights to manage its four existing hotels, to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Gaylord officials said, they will revamp the company's business model to cease being a developer of multimillion-dollar resorts and become a real-estate investment trust, or REIT.

A REIT pools investor money to buy or develop revenue-generating properties, with proceeds distributed to investors as dividends.

Gaylord officials did not say whether the restructuring, to be completed by Jan. 1 if shareholders approve, would put an end to the already-postponed Mesa resort plans for land owned by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates.

Still, a company news release issued Thursday did say the transition to a REIT would halt existing plans to develop a resort of similar size and cost in Colorado.

"The company will no longer view large-scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with the Colorado project in the form previously anticipated," the release said. "The company will re-examine how the project could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase."

DMB Associates spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said it's too early to tell how Gaylord's proposed restructuring might affect the Mesa plans.

"It appears that shareholders will still have to approve this proposed deal later this summer," Campana said. "It sounds like this will be a wait-and-see."

Last July, Gaylord executives reassured DMB and city officials including Mesa Mayor Scott Smith that the company still intended to build the resort despite postponing the project until economic conditions improved.

Smith and the other local officials had traveled to Gaylord's Nashville headquarters that month to address a growing concern that the resort never would be built.

by J. Craig Anderson - May. 31, 2012 06:20 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

The company that was planning an $800 million resort and conference center in southeast Mesa appears to be getting out of the resort -development business.

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand, along with rights to manage its four existing hotels, to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Gaylord officials said, they will revamp the company's business model to cease being a developer of multimillion-dollar resorts and become a real-estate investment trust, or REIT.

A REIT pools investor money to buy or develop revenue-generating properties, with proceeds distributed to investors as dividends.

Gaylord officials did not say whether the restructuring, to be completed by Jan. 1 if shareholders approve, would put an end to the already-postponed Mesa resort plans for land owned by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates.

Still, a company news release issued Thursday did say the transition to a REIT would halt existing plans to develop a resort of similar size and cost in Colorado.

"The company will no longer view large-scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with the Colorado project in the form previously anticipated," the release said. "The company will re-examine how the project could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase."

DMB Associates spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said it's too early to tell how Gaylord's proposed restructuring might affect the Mesa plans.

"It appears that shareholders will still have to approve this proposed deal later this summer," Campana said. "It sounds like this will be a wait-and-see."

Last July, Gaylord executives reassured DMB and city officials including Mesa Mayor Scott Smith that the company still intended to build the resort despite postponing the project until economic conditions improved.

Smith and the other local officials had traveled to Gaylord's Nashville headquarters that month to address a growing concern that the resort never would be built.

by J. Craig Anderson - May. 31, 2012 06:20 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

The company that was planning an $800 million resort and conference center in southeast Mesa appears to be getting out of the resort -development business.

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to sell the Gaylord Hotels brand, along with rights to manage its four existing hotels, to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. for $210 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Gaylord officials said, they will revamp the company's business model to cease being a developer of multimillion-dollar resorts and become a real-estate investment trust, or REIT.

A REIT pools investor money to buy or develop revenue-generating properties, with proceeds distributed to investors as dividends.

Gaylord officials did not say whether the restructuring, to be completed by Jan. 1 if shareholders approve, would put an end to the already-postponed Mesa resort plans for land owned by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates.

Still, a company news release issued Thursday did say the transition to a REIT would halt existing plans to develop a resort of similar size and cost in Colorado.

"The company will no longer view large-scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with the Colorado project in the form previously anticipated," the release said. "The company will re-examine how the project could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase."

DMB Associates spokeswoman Cassidy Campana said it's too early to tell how Gaylord's proposed restructuring might affect the Mesa plans.

"It appears that shareholders will still have to approve this proposed deal later this summer," Campana said. "It sounds like this will be a wait-and-see."

Last July, Gaylord executives reassured DMB and city officials including Mesa Mayor Scott Smith that the company still intended to build the resort despite postponing the project until economic conditions improved.

Smith and the other local officials had traveled to Gaylord's Nashville headquarters that month to address a growing concern that the resort never would be built.

by J. Craig Anderson - May. 31, 2012 06:20 PM The Republic | azcentral.com



Gaylord resort appears in limbo for Mesa

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects

Gaylord Entertainment Co. and DMB Associates are asking Mesa for another three years to get rolling on a planned tourism and convention destination in the far southeast Valley.

Karrin Taylor, a vice president with Scottsdale-based DMB, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the economy, plus a destructive flood at Gaylord's flagship resort in Nashville, made it impossible to meet deadlines.

It was exactly two years ago today that DMB and Gaylord told a festive crowd at the Mesa Arts Center that they were partnering to build a massive resort and conference center on the northern end of what used to be the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.

Gaylord planned a resort that would be Arizona's largest, with at least 1,200 rooms. DMB paid $265 million for 5 square miles of the GM property in late 2006.

DMB also promised to lure another large upscale resort to complement the Gaylord, although that prospective partner never has been identified. A Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course and high-end retail stores developed by Macerich Co. would round out the project.

For DMB, it was to be the sizzling beginning of a master-planned community just east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a community that DMB views as a decades-long project that eventually will be home to high-rise, world-class business centers.

For Gaylord, it was to be the perfect complement for its business model of rotating large conventions among its signature resorts, the westernmost of which is in Grapevine, Texas.

And for Mesa, the deal was confirmation of its long-held belief that the Gateway area represents one of the most potentially rich economic-development opportunities in the country, as well as a chance to shed its milquetoast civic image.

But within days of the gala at the Arts Center, Wall Street was in meltdown.

By the time Mesa voters approved the Gaylord project in March 2009, the economy remained in freefall; and even as they celebrated their 84 percent victory at the polls, Gaylord executives were waving a yellow flag on the Mesa project.

Subsequent Gaylord earnings reports have indicated Mesa is on the back burner as the company deals with the global slowdown in business travel.

Mesa officials have said that if Gaylord were to meet its Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for groundbreaking, City Hall should be inundated by now with plans and permit applications.

Taylor said the companies have asked Mesa to extend their development agreements for three years. DMB also has asked Mesa for permission to create two "community facilities districts" that would issue bonds to help finance construction.

If the Mesa City Council agrees to the extension, groundbreaking would now be no later than Dec. 31, 2014, with construction to wrap up by Dec. 31, 2017.

"The world is just in a place that none of us anticipated (when the project was announced)," Taylor said.

Not only was Gaylord hammered by the economy, Taylor said, its Opryland resort in Nashville suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage on May 3 when the Cumberland River roared through a ruptured levee.

The 2,881 guest rooms were spared, but the basement, full of vital electrical and mechanical components, and the resort's public areas were destroyed.

Gaylord is focusing on reopening the Opryland by Nov. 15.

Taylor said the City Council is likely to consider the extension within the next six weeks.

The news came as no surprise to Mayor Scott Smith.

"We've been talking with both DMB and Gaylord for several months, stating the obvious," Smith said. "We lost several months, if not years, to the economy and to the lack of viable funding sources."

Smith said the extension would be merely a setback, not a finale.

"We recognize that we still have a legacy developer in DMB who is committed to the Mesa Proving Grounds; we still have a Gaylord who is committed to east Mesa; and we still have an economy that is making it tough for both of them," Smith said. "These things don't happen overnight."

Smith said Gaylord and DMB are different from a project that has struggled to get off the ground in the exact opposite corner of Mesa.

Waveyard Development LLC of Scottsdale, which has been trying for three years to finance a resort and sports park near loops 101 and 202, got the city to extend its deadline last year.

But Mesa has grown increasingly skeptical of Waveyard's chances and is talking about giving the Chicago Cubs dibs on the Riverview Golf Course for a spring-training facility should Waveyard not come through by next July.

"Waveyard is a dream project," Smith said. "It just doesn't have the pedigree of the other two (DMB and Gaylord)."

A Gaylord spokesman did not immediately respond to The Republic's requests for comment.

by Gary Nelson The Arizona Republic Sept. 3, 2010 12:00 AM




Gaylord, DMB seek 3-year extension for Mesa projects