Gilbert ends development of go

GILBERT, Ariz. — The Gilbert Town Council has terminated a lease agreement that would have let developers build a go-kart and miniature golf attraction at Crossroads Park.

Development for the proposed San Tan Adventure Park has ended due to recent "economic conditions and the current high cost of construction," town documents state.

The town had made a deal to lease out four acres of land near Knox Road and San Tan Village Parkway for SAP Holdings/Castle Golf to turn the parcel into the adventure park.

Preliminary plans for San Tan Adventure Park show the facility was given the permitted uses for a mini golf course, outdoor maze, splash pad, climbing wall, escape room, ropes course, and go-karts.

The project was met with some criticism from Gilbert residents who were nervous about the noise that a new go-kart track might generate, according to the Arizona Republic.

Construction was expected to start this year but the council voted Tuesday to return the project's land back into Gilbert's inventory and find another use for it, records show.

Councilmember Chuck Bongiovanni said he hopes the town considers revising how it enters into these types of agreements in the future, considering the amount of time Gilbert spent working on the San Tan project.

"In the end, we are left alone at the altar without a partner," Bongiovanni said during Tuesday's council meeting.

In an email to 12News, SAP Holdings said they were saddened by the project's unfortunate outcome and indicated that the current state of the economy was the sole reason to discontinue development.

"We would love to try again in the future but endeavors hardly ever seem to be that simple," the developers stated.

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