The Palm Beach Post
Slowly but surely, Canyon Town Center is coming to life. To celebrate, there will be an official grand opening Sunday at the recently completed 200,000-square-foot shopping center at 8802 Boynton Beach Blvd., west of Boynton Beach. From noon to 3:30 p.m., Publix will provide free hot dogs and soda, and Panera Bread will offer cookie decorating and food samples. There also will be face painting and live music by The Fabulons.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
In addition to the food and entertainment, the center's developers, GL Commercial, will publicly hand over the adjacent amphitheater and sports field they built to Palm Beach County. They also will announce the center's future entertainment schedule, including concerts, shows, karaoke and a pumpkin patch. The tenants now open at Canyon Town Center are Publix, Panera Bread, U.S. post office, Bank of America, Wachovia, Shop on Impulse, V & Mi Nails and Mergen Martial Arts.
Businesses set to open in the near future at the shopping center are AmTrust, Frozen Delight Ice Cream, Dry Clean USA, After the Stork Baby Clothes, Conte Salon, Comcast, Sports Rehab & Chiropractor, Massage Envy, Hair Cuttery, Walgreens and Burn Fitness. Several other tenants are in negotiations.
When V & Mi Nails opened April 19 at Canyon Town Center, the salon was overwhelmed by the response. About 1,500 people showed up to receive a special one-day promotional rate for manicures and pedicures.
In order to accommodate all of the people there that day, the shop extended the promotion until May 3.
"After that, I couldn't move for two days," said Sophia Che, who owns the nail salon with her husband, Vincent Nguyen.
They've remained busy. "People say it's a tough time, but you just have to find the right location," Che said. "The residents are helping us out. They tell us that there was nothing around this area, and this is so convenient for them." Mariam Sharkey is one such resident who was getting a manicure at the nail salon on a Friday morning. She lives in Canyon Isles, which is within walking distance of Canyon Town Center, and has two sons, ages 10 and 5. "I'm very, very happy out here," Sharkey said. "There are so many young families, and everybody is so supportive of one another." Ken Lassiter, president of the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations, is glad to see things progressing at Canyon Town Center.
He remembers when Sandra Greenberg took office as the coalition president six years ago. Her vision for the community included an amphitheater for concerts and family events. "It will be great to see her vision come true," Lassiter said. "And it's certainly going to be a nice addition to the area with a lot of free entertainment. In this day in age, if you find something free, it's good." Just miles from Canyon Town Center, GL Homes, an affiliate of GL Commercial, recently had its groundbreaking for the 55-and-older community Valencia Reserve. The site plan calls for 1,061 units on 378 acres. Prices for homes at Valencia Reserve will range from $249,900 to $503,900. So far, 60 units have been sold.