Outlet-mall developer says reports of project’s demise are erroneous

DACONO – Reports that a huge outlet mall project here has been canceled are wildly erroneous, says the Arizona developer behind the project.A recent report published by F.W. Dodge, a national company that gathers statistics about the construction industry, labeled the Dacono factory-store project as being “abandoned.”
“That’s not true,´ said Ted Decker of the Tucson, Ariz., area. “We simply could not get someone in the (construction site) trailer until we had a phone line.”
That line was just run at the end of January. The mall is to be located on more than 100 acres at the northeast quadrant of Interstate 25 and Weld County Road 8, better known as the Erie exit.
Decker said F.W. Dodge employees often attempted to gather information about the project. But because of routine delays associated with assembling such a large project, he could not provide them with specific answers to their questions. Decker said that must have led to their labeling the project a failure.
One year ago, Decker said a 100,000-square-foot, $20 million first phase of the factory stores would be open by November 1996.
He now will not speculate on size or scope of the project or when it might open, but insists it’s moving forward.
Officials with the town of Dacono confirmed that the project still is very active and that Decker appeared before the town board within the last couple of months.
“We still have to go through the approval process for the plans,” Decker said.
He added that the town officials had been “wonderful” to work with.
The outlet mall still will have a sports-oriented concept, as well as be family oriented.
“This is much more in-depth and complicated than the malls in Loveland or Castle Rock,” Decker said. “There will be something for every member of the family to enjoy.”
Last year, Decker described the mall as the “marriage of a sports park concept to a factory outlet,” saying it would include softball fields, an aviation store with flight simulators and a boat outlet complete with a lake.
He also said a ski and skate outlet would include an enclosed, heated, full-sized in-line skating rink and a simulated skiing facility.
Other planned try-it-out stores include gun and fishing retailers, a chocolate company and tool manufacturer.
Decker has a long history of involvement in developing factory outlets. He has had a hand in about 20 projects, including the Castle Rock Factory Stores that opened in 1992.ÿ