The Ames Lifestyle Center, a planned shopping mall that some think will bring more commerce to Ames, is experiencing lengthy delays in the development process.

In an agreement with the city to build the lifestyle center, the developer, Wolford Development, Inc., was required to have titles for the land the proposed site was on by December 1, 2007. The proposed site of the lifestyle center is near the intersection of 13th Street and Interstate 35.

Wolford Development, Inc., met requirements set forth by the council to provide proof of financing for the property but failed to provide binding lease agreements for retailers looking to set up shop in the center.

“As of now, I haven’t seen any lease agreements from Wolford,” said Doug Marek, City Attorney for Ames. “That is the only requirement they have not met, though.”

The agreement between Wolford and the city said if Wolford did not meet the December 1 deadline, the council could entertain the possibility of rezoning the land, thus keeping commercial structures from being built on it. However, few see that as a viable option.

“To rezone the land would take a majority vote from the council, and I don’t think there are enough votes for that,” said Dan Rice, city councilman for the first ward. “Wolford passing that deadline just gave us the option. If we don’t do anything, they can keep going.”

Although Wolford has failed to meet some of the requirements, there has still been progress in the project. According to a stipulation added to the contract, Wolford is responsible for adding infrastructure to the area set aside for the lifestyle center, and Marek said he has seen signs of life.

“I received, a little while ago, changes to the Major Site Development Plan that reflect some of the changes we wanted to see,” he said. “The city staff have been reviewing them.”

Since its approval by the city council, the project has not had a particularly easy go of things. The project was initially approved by a council that held differing views from those of the current council – and when the current council first reviewed the project, they tried to reverse some of the decisions that had already been made.

Along with the mixed opinion of the council, the state of the economy has played a role in retailers’ decisions to open new stores and has made some in the industry nervous.

“There are lots of retailers closing existing stores, let alone thinking of opening new ones,” said Jami Larson, city councilman for Ward 2. “North Grand is having that same issue.”

Larson went on to say Wolford owns the land, so even if the council wanted to rezone it, not much would come out of that decision.

“I don’t see, right now, any time-table out there forcing him to do something. I don’t know what we can force him to do,” Larson said. “The main issue for me is the infrastructure, which Wolford committed to do even without leases for his lifestyle center.”

Riad Mahayni, city councilman for Ward 4, said he is opposed to rezoning the land regardless.

“I think that it is best suited for regional commercial use, whether it is Wolford or not,” he said. “I think Ames needs another commercial center, and I have been supportive of this project for its lifespan.”

In regard to retailers signing on with the project, the routine of wait-and-see remains.

“I’ve only heard rumors of stores wanting to join, nothing official that I can speak to though,” Larson said.

Clint Wolford, vice president of Wolford Development, deferred comments to John Martin, media relations, who was unavailable for comment.