McDonalds is coming to Falcon. Located at the corner of McLaughlin Road and Old Meridian Road in the new Meridian Crossing shopping center, the fast food restaurant will open in late summer 2009. The play land won’t be featured at this store.Wayne Harris, Meridian Crossing developer, said McDonalds sits on one of six lots available in the center. A new liquor store will break ground by June, and the other four lots haven’t been sold.”We’ve had interest from banks, auto places, doctors and dentists, but nothing concrete,” Harris said. He expects that McDonalds and the liquor store will generate more interest in the development, but new construction faces many challenges in the current economic climate.”The problem today is that construction is costing more than existing properties,” Harris said.To build the development, El Paso County officials required that Harris make $400,000 in improvements to McLaughlin, Old Meridian and Flower roads; the latter is a new road that will connect McLaughlin and Meridian roads. Harris said work on the roads will be finished by the end of May.Kari Parsons, El Paso County Development Services Division planner, said the Meridian Crossing plan fits the requirements specified by the Falcon-Peyton small area master plan. She said the 8.5-acre site will feature a pedestrian walkway to the Rock Island Trail, curbing around the perimeter and landscaping throughout the development.
