On Friday morning, the operator of a large orange excavator lifted its scoop into the sky, hooked a section of metal roof and brought it crashing to the ground. Members of the Wilton Rancheria Tribe cheered. The moment marked the beginning of the end for Elk Grove’s “ghost mall”: a project that once promised to invigorate the local economy but stalled 11 years ago.

The demolition is the end of a decade of frustration for Elk Grove residents and city leaders who tried in vain to spur the Howard Hughes Corporation, which owns the southern 63 acres of the property, into action.

The Wilton Rancheria Tribe owns the property where the building is being demolished and 36 acres. Chairman Raymond C Hitchcock says the planned casino will bring economic benefits to his tribe.

"What our resort and casino project that we intend on building here in Elk Grove will provide is health care options for our tribal members. We have over 800 tribal members, housing opportunities, educational opportunities, scholarships, cultural revitalization, taking care of our elders," he said.

The tribe and its casino partner, Boyd Gaming, bought the 36 acres for the project from the Howard Hughes Corporation two years ago for $36 million. The tribe had been disbanded in 1959 but was reinstated in 2009. The federal government declared the 36 acres sovereign land.

That’s important to Ralph Troy Hatch, who is the tribe’s education director. He says the site will also create a place to host re-acquired lost artifacts and the history of the tribe.

“We have the opportunity to go get everything that is in the colleges, like Berkeley and preserve and protect them and sacred sites,” Hatch said.

The tribe is demolishing the one large building on the northern end of the mall that it owns.

Hitchcock says the buildings do not fit Boyd Gaming's planned footprint for the casino.

Crews also prepared to tear down the other buildings on the adjacent 63 acres, which are still owned by Hughes. Some of the buildings still have drywall and other materials from the original project stored beneath their roofs. The metal from the buildings will be recycled.

The site could be cleared by spring, and groundbreaking for the casino is expected to happen sometime this year.