Business View Magazine | March 2018

144 we have faced is that it’s extremelycongested.So,what we are constructing is a parallel boulevard,named San Jacinto Boulevard,to thewest of GarthRoad that will tie in thewestern portion of our cityto the shop- ping area.We’re connecting GarthRoad to San Jacinto Boulevard with several other newboulevards that will intersect themall theway fromNorthMain Street, which parallels GarthRoad to the east and JohnMartin Road,which parallels GarthRoad, far to thewest.So, we’re creating,basically,a grid of boulevards tomove people in and out of our high traffic,retail areas in order to relieve the congestion.The first phase of the San Jacinto project is nearlycomplete and the second phasewill be complete sometime next year.” Another project is the San JacintoMall.“We have an oldmall,San JacintoMall,which has been in existence since 1981,”DonCarlos continues.“It’s one of those malls that went through an unfortunate series of own- ers,never had anyupgrades,andwas,frankly,a failing mall.We managed to get themall sold from its then current owner to Fidelis Realtyout of Houston,which is a redevelopment company.Theyhave worked up a master plan to completelychange our mall froman indoor mall to an outdoor shopping areawith plazas, fountains,green spaces,and a lot of amenities for our citizens.It’s a beautiful design.We’re finalizing negotia- tions with themajor anchors to have themsign on and approve the redevelopment project,andwe hope that that is going to start about mid-year.” CityManager,RickDavis,adds that the total expense for theMall project is expected to be $100,000,000, with a $70,000,000 commitment from the city,the Texas Department of Transportation,Harris County,the developer,other propertyowners,and theTax Incre- BAYTOWN, TEXAS