11.07

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for staying tuned to Yourland  - everyone is working very hard, the project is well on its way and we are on track to open in 2008!  Let me give you a quick update:

Currently Kitchell is onsite and near completion of the abatement process.  Interior demolition began several weeks ago and we're now look toward its comletion.  

The Welcome Diner will be the first to open its doors at the 16th St. site.  Although it was our desire to also retain the current diner location at 9th and Roosevelt we encountered a circumstance that didn't allow for it.  Rather that fighting this we decided to move the Diner forward and set its sites on Yourland.  We plan to open the doors in December - stay tuned!

We received many emails in response to the Arizona Republic article on Yourland that was run this past summer with many people sharing their memories of the 16th St. and Buckeye site.  On October 20th we had a lunch and get-together for many of the folks who responded and heard many more incredible stories telling the rich history of the project site.  The history of Smitty's #1 (which is currently being redeveloped into Phase 1 of Yourland) has been very valuable to us in helping us get a sense of Yourland's roots.  As a result we thought it would be really great to put together some sort of a "Smitty's #1 history project."  We're hoping to get in contact with many more past Smitty's employees, hear their stories, see their memorabilia, and capture as much of it as we can.  I even met with a fellow named Arnold Eggers a few weeks ago, an original founder of Smitty's, who has some old 8mm film recordings of the store!  We're very excited about this project and think that it will do a lot to help Yourland remember its roots.

As to the current state of tenant development, we have two of the three "anchors" of Yourland more-or-less secured.  These being our Art and Entertainment anchor and our Food and Restaurant anchor.  The third and final anchor that we are working very hard right now to secure is the "Artist/Designer/Artisan studio/production space" and "Material Supplier" anchor.  This component could take a variety of forms.  We are in the process of reaching out and sharing the project with anyone who we could see as a potential tenant, guaging response and forming/fleshing out this third anchor.  This has been very exciting work.  We are in contact with many incredible and creative people and have high hopes for what they might be able to bring to Yourland.  Please stay tuned!

Lastly, be sure to keep an eye on our website: www.marthaandmary.net/yourland, or www.yourland.net.  I will be updating information and making resources avilable there as we proceed though the upcoming months.

I think that's about it for now!  If you have any questions or would like to receive more information or materials please don't hesitate to drop me an email at adam@marthaandmary.net.  Have a great week and thank you for your interest in Yourland.

All the best!

The Yourland Team