PLEASANT GROVE — The new Pleasant Grove/Lindon freeway interchange is already paying off for Pleasant Grove, and the mayor is practically doing handsprings.
Associated Food Stores will build the largest Macey's in the state near the new interchange. The site is at the junction of Center Street and State Street, west of the Deseret Storage units.
"If I weren't standing here in front of students, I'd be doing handsprings right now," said Mayor Ed Sanderson, who teaches at Lone Peak High School in Highland.
"This is a significant start for us. It adds enough to the bottom line that we'll be able to do more police, more fire, more everything," Sanderson said.
"We're talking 76,000 square feet," said Kevin Hawkins, an agent with Amsource Realty Advisors. Hawkins has worked on developing a partnership agreement between Pleasant Grove and Macey's for more than a year.
"This will be the flagship store for Macey's."
Hawkins said there may be smaller specialty shops within the grocery store, including a bank and possibly a Deseret Book outlet.
He anticipates Macey's will break ground on the store in July and have the store open by February 2002, just in time for the Winter Games.
Hawkins said the decision to locate the store in Pleasant Grove rather than in neighboring American Fork was based solely on the access to the freeway.
"It's going to be an outstanding location. The traffic study done estimates the traffic count will be 40,000 cars a day," Hawkins said.
Sanderson said Macey's opted to locate in Pleasant Grove because company officials liked the site and wanted to be in Pleasant Grove.
He said the store not only adds greatly to the city's plans for development hinged on the new connector road but anchors what has become a controversial road — Pleasant Grove Boulevard, which will link directly to the new freeway interchange.
Macey's representatives will attend an announcement ceremony sponsored by city officials Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Pleasant Grove.
The public is invited, and renderings will be on display, the mayor said.
E-MAIL: haddoc@desnews.com