You’ve seen them all around Ames — those big green and yellow signs in houses’ front yards. The big letters say “Smart Growth. No New Mall.”

No new mall? But North Grand Mall of Ames is so small.

Most out-of-state students, after walking through North Grand for the first time, have a hard time considering it a real mall. It seems more like a small shopping center that leaves many students wishing there was a bigger mall closer to campus. If you are one of those students, Mr. James “Bucky” Wolford wants to make your dreams come true.

This Tennessee developer came into our lovely town in November 2000 after a major department store had shown interest in opening here. Four months later, he had a plan to begin constructing a mall in 2003 and open it in 2004.

However, it is 2004, and there is no new mall in town.

From 2002 until 2003, Bucky Wolford studied the Ames traffic and market with the purpose of obtaining Ames City Council approval through a report. It wasn’t until early this year that the Council, as well as the planning and zoning commission, voted in favor of the new mall.

Bucky Wolford’s vision is to build a mall north of East 13th Street and a “power center” south of East 13th Street. His vision is that Younkers, Sears and J.C. Penney will move in a mass exodus from North Grand Mall to the new mall and that stores like Wal-Mart Supercenter and Home Depot will open in the “power center.” He believes Ames is a great market and this is a good project that could be finished by 2007.

His report states that “it is assumed” that key stores will move from North Grand to the new mall. With a report based on assumptions, you know that something isn’t right.

It is obvious that some of the values projected for the new Ames mall are absurd. According to the Ames Smart Growth Web site, when comparing the market studies submitted for the new Ames mall and the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, the estimated sales for Jordan Creek are $300 million and the estimated sales of the new Ames mall are $327 million.

How do these numbers add up?

Maybe Wolford thought that since Ames is a college town with good marketing, students will buy more (with credit cards, of course) and spend more than the wealthier population of West Des Moines.

Either that, or he was trying to convince the Ames population that a new mall is needed by estimating high and tempting amounts of money.

Some students like the idea of a new mall because they think that it will increase entertainment and job opportunities. It might increase job opportunities, but if CyRide does not adjust bus routes, the mall will only benefit those students and members of the Ames population with cars.

If CyRide does adjust bus routes, the minimum annual expense for one of the proposed routes is estimated to be $435,700. But CyRide is coping with a $196,000 budget shortfall and might have to cut some routes.

If there were a new mall, current CyRide routes would be diverted and buses might not come every 10 or 20 minutes, and many students will be left without the Moonlight Express (aka Drunk Bus).

The new mall not only poses a threat to the Ames economy, but according to 1,000 Friends for Iowa’s Web site, it also poses environmental damages. And while Wolford’s plans seem too good to be true, it is not the first time he has pushed for a new mall in a small town and this is not the first time his plans have been delayed. In Montana, residents filed a lawsuit against his plans to build a new mall on farmlands north of Kalispell.

Building a new mall is not the solution for economic development or increased entertainment in Ames. A new mall will only affect student’s pockets and local businesses negatively.

If students want more entertainment, we should go out and enjoy Ames or get involved with campus events.

If we started supporting local businesses, stores like Daydreams and Zushy* would still be in Campustown.