Oct. 9--HUMMELS WHARF -- The wait is over.

At approximately 11:35 a.m. Wednesday, Pennsylvania Real Estate and Investment Trust (PREIT) cut the ribbon, with golden scissors to boot, and officially opened the much-anticipated Monroe Marketplace, Routes 11 and 15.

"This is a great day, an absolutely wonderful day. It is a great day for the Susquehanna Valley," said Dave Hall, president and CEO of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce, before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"I wore green today because green is the color of opportunity. Green is the color of money," said Hall. "When you think of all the jobs that are being created here at Monroe Marketplace over the next few weeks, it is absolutely phenomenal."

The "open-air shopping center" will provide more than 240 full-time and 1,100 part-time jobs.

Project's history

Tim Wolfe, Monroe Township Board of Supervisors chairman, provided a history of the project, complete with the dates of board approvals and permits that have been issued for the project. The board granted the possibility of approving a shopping center, plaza or mall on Sept. 27, 2005.

A little over three years later, Monroe Marketplace Developmental Director Nate Allison, 31, stood before members of the community as PREIT's youngest development director, minutes before his first project was officially opened.

"This is truly a special moment for me," Allison said. "I am honored to have been given an opportunity to play a significant role in helping to bring these exciting new retail concepts to Monroe Township, especially in light of the current economic condition."

'Going to be a boom'

While other development companies have been scaling back on their projects, Allison said that PREIT has never given up.

"Despite the credit crisis and the outlook on the economy, the Monroe Marketplace is symbolic of the strength of our economy and the execution of our long term strategy," said Allison. "We have weathered business cycles before, and we won't give up. We won't ever give up until we reach our goals and maximized value for our shareholders."

After the ribbon cutting, Allison was still all smiles.

When asked about the impact on the local economy, he said simply, "It's going to be a boom."

He elaborated on how the economic conditions affected Monroe Marketplace, saying that only one store, Home Depot, pulled out of the Marketplace.

"Some tenants did elect delaying their store openings," explained Allison.