Expect traffic restrictions all month long

Traffic on a nearly quarter-mile stretch of John Wayne Parkway will be restricted at times to one lane in each direction for the remainder of November.

The stretch of traffic delays is sandwiched between Edison Road and Hathaway Avenue, a project involving completely tearing up the road, repaving a new roadway, laying a sidewalk and constructing a median, said the project’s developer Michael Koslow.

Additionally, during this same time period traffic traveling northbound on state Route 347 will not be able to turn left onto Hathaway Avenue.

To bypass the contruction, travelers can seek an alternative route by using Garvey Avenue to Wilson Avenue from the south, or Edison Road to Wilson Avenue from the north.

Koslow began the onsite and offsite improvements on the 25-acre retail development in August despite having no commitments from retailers.

“I wish I could give names of retailers coming to the site, but that’s not the case,” he said.

Koslow said he decided to do the improvements now because of the reduced price of construction in the down economy.

“I am committed to this site and realized I could do the improvements now for 40 percent less,” he said.

Desert Cedars was originally slated to be home to a 10,000 square-foot Fresh and Easy grocery store, but the retailer backed out before construction began.

Desert Cedars is a project that has been going through development for more than three years. The largest holdup in the process has been the Arizona Department of Transportation, which must approve engineering plans and traffic studies since the development is located along a state road, Koslow said.

While it took three years for the state to approve the project, Koslow said he is hoping it doesn’t take as long for retailers to return to the marketplace.

“The absorption of existing homes is already taking place, and although it may be investors buying 10 homes at a time, it is only a matter of time before developers return to start work on all the unfinished lots in town,” Koslow said.

He added that since he has started construction on the improvements, he has had conversations with smaller tenants. But until he gets a commitment from an anchor business, he will not go vertical with construction, Koslow said.

File photo