Scottsdale residents petitioned the court to put the project up for a March 9 vote after Scottsdale City Council approved a measure that would give developer Steve Ellman as much as $36.7 million in taxpayer dollars to fund the mall's makeover. With inflation, the cost to the taxpayers could reach $200 million over the 40 years of the project.
The Phoenix-based developer plans to turn the long-vacant property at Scottsdale and McDowell roads into a Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Ellman and his firm, the Ellman Cos., had initially planned to turn the site into the new home for the Phoenix Coyotes, but public opposition scrubbed that plan. Ellman plans to appeal Judge Jonathan Schwartz's decision.
The mall redevelopment also is facing a court challenge by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which recently filed a suit alleging that the subsidy was an unconstitutional gift to the developer.
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