Construction another challenge for local businesses in Litchfield

By Madeline Ackley Salazar
Mail | Twitter: @Mkayackley

As construction projects continue along one of Litchfield Park’s main arterial roadways, local business owners along Litchfield Road say the city hasn’t done a good job communicating with them.

Major construction of a roundabout connected to the Litchfield Square development began near Litchfield Road and Village Parkway in late 2021, and won’t be completed until later this year.

But local business owners at Plaza in the Park on the southwest corner of Litchfield and Camelback roads were surprised to find even more roadway had been cordoned off in the past week.

Ian and Stephanie Harwell are co-owners of Ground Control, a local favorite for craft beer and specialty coffees. The Harwells told The Independent they were shocked to find orange and white barricades blocking their business’ main entrance for cars traveling north on Litchfield Road, and said they never received a notice from the city.

Stephanie Harwell said after the barricades appeared, they called the city, and learned the barricades were there in preparation for a gas line replacement, but the person they spoke to could not tell them when the project would be completed.

“They didn’t really give us too much detail,” Stephanie Harwell said. 

That same day, Ian Harwell expressed his frustrations in a Facebook post. 

“You got to love all the challenges us small businesses continue to face,” Harwell wrote. “As if the construction wasn't difficult enough to navigate your way into the building -- now you can't possibly take a left turn into the complex heading north on Litchfield.”

Harwell also implored his customers to continue their support of Ground Control and other small businesses operating in the plaza. Patrons can still access the plaza heading southbound on Litchfield Road, or by taking Camelback Road. 

On March 31, The Independent reached out to City Manager Matthew Williams with questions about the ongoing construction, along with a screenshot of Harwell’s Facebook post. 

Roughly two hours after The Independent had sent its initial email to Williams, a post appeared on the city of Litchfield Park’s Facebook page, asking residents to patronize the businesses in the plaza impacted by construction. 

The accompanying picture was identical to the one used in Harwell’s post.   

Williams issued a partial response to The Independent’s questions in an email on April 1 around 12:30 p.m. stating the city anticipates the replacement of the Southwest Gas main will be completed around May 1. 

He added that the city has asked residents to support the impacted businesses through its “social media efforts.” 

In a follow-up email,  The Independent asked Williams if the city had posted about the construction on social media prior to March 31, or if the city had directly contacted businesses related to the construction.

Williams responded that the post was not in response to the reporter’s email but “went along the same timeline (Williams) was communicating with Mr. Harwell.”

Williams did not say if the city had reached out to businesses directly, and stated that the city had publically posted about the Southwest Gas construction generally, but nothing about construction on the section of road in front of the plaza.

Other Plaza in the Park business owners confirmed they had not received notice from the city regarding the project. 

Margherita Riello, owner of Bell Fitness, has operated her personal training gym in the plaza for the last eight years. 

She said her customers have expressed frustration due to the construction, and some have shown up late because of traffic delays. Bell Fitness is toward the back of the plaza, and Riello feels the construction lowers her visibility even more. 

“There’s less people in the area,” she said. “Before there was more people going to Ground Control, and they would see us. Now, there’s less people going…to the restaurants in the area too then, less people see us as well.”

Riello said she understands the construction might be necessary, but wishes the city had let business owners know beforehand.

“I think they should have told us…so we could warn our clients,” she said.

On the upside, Riello said that she’s managed to retain her current clientele. Her business relies on memberships, but she worries for other businesses in the area like Ground Control and Alebrijes Cafe and Grill, a local Mexican restaurant that opened up in December.

Gilberto Martinez Morales and his wife Veronica own Alebrijes, which specializes in southern and central Mexican cuisine. 

Martinez Morales said that while he’s worked in the restaurant industry in Litchfield Park for over 15 years, his current business is so new that he can’t be sure if the construction has impacted foot traffic.

“It's hard for me to tell because we're new and I don’t know if we’re losing customers. We’re barely building our clientele,” he said.

When asked if he’d received any communication from Litchfield Park regarding the construction, Martinez Morales replied, “No, we did not…We never got anything in the mail.” 

Online information about roadway construction projects in Litchfield Park is scarce. 

A page on the city’s website titled “Road Construction Projects” does not include any information related to the roadway construction on Litchfield Road at the time of this story’s publication.

Southwest Gas has yet to add the gas line replacement along Litchfield Road to its interactive map of current construction projects. 

Small businesses face overlapping challenges

Construction is the latest–but far from the only–challenge local businesses in the area are facing. 

Businesses that managed to outlast a two-year pandemic are now dealing with inflation.

Spring is normally Ground Control’s busiest time of the year, but the Harwells told The Independent that they’ve seen a 40% decrease in sales from the same time last year.

A shortened spring training season hasn’t helped sales. 

“We’ve already cut back our hours anyways,” Stephanie Harwell said. Ground Control now only offers breakfast on the weekends, and Ian Harwell said they are considering closing on Tuesdays if things don’t improve. 

When asked how long they could continue to stay afloat in the current circumstances, Stephanie replied, “It’s hard to say.”

The Harwells has asked that customers continue to support Ground Control in any way they can. For patrons who don’t want to wade through traffic, Ground Control has a delivery option which can be accessed through its website, groundxcontrol.com. 

This story is ongoing and will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Madeline Ackley Salazar can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.