Provo

PROVO (Deseret News) — A year after approving a more than 600-acre development that could become a new town, the Utah County Commission has stalled on approving a special-service district to fund sewer, roads and fire protection for the area.

Commissioners said they had unresolved issues with Cole Cannon's West Mountain project, but they didn't say what those were and they didn't set a date to revisit the issue.

Commissioner Gary Anderson said he had issues with both the development and the service district.

PROVO (Daily Herald)  -- CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate brokerage, quietly closed its Provo office at 5255 Edgewood Drive, Suite 250, in a move to consolidate its operations statewide, an official said Thursday.

The Provo-Orem area is ranked No. 31 in foreclosure-related filings among more than 200 areas nationwide, a new report shows. The Utah County community is the highest-ranked Utah metro area on the list, with 3,168 properties -- approximately 2.

Original Article

PROVO (Deseret News) — A planned downtown convention center will be three stories tall, with an outdoor plaza on top and a street-level plaza on the corner of Center Street and 200 West.

Those are some of the plans being solidified as Utah County acquires property to build the convention center, Commissioner Steve White said Tuesday during a work session with the Provo City Council.

PROVO (Deseret News) — When the house at 279 S. 600 West was built, no one had heard the term "smart home."

But now, the home that dates to the 1920s is becoming one.

A block party to introduce various ways homeowners can make their homes more energy efficient is set for 6 to 8 tonight. The home is the centerpiece.

PROVO (Daily Herald) -- Provo Housing Authority commissioners got an insider's look at the old St. Francis lot on 500 West on Wednesday.

Granted, right now the lot is mostly a big hole on the ground and the Provo Housing Authority's board had the same view that anyone walking or driving slowly down the street would have, but executive director Doug Carlson also talked about some ideas for this lot.

"There's a lot for us to study and to look at in determining feasibility," he said.

PROVO (DESERET NEWS) — If you love standing in lines, feeling squished and waiting for hours, this story isn't for you.

But for those who appreciate efficient, expanded court services, the Administrative Office of the Courts wants you to keep reading.

Court officials know that Utah County's population is growing, especially in the northwest area, and that such growth is putting a strain on the judges, employees and buildings in 4th District Court.

(SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) -- Nearly a quarter of the contract work to build FrontRunner commuter rail from Salt Lake City to Provo is complete, but there's plenty of heavy lifting to come.

Specifically, the Utah Transit Authority still must shift Union Pacific freight tracks to the east through the Jordan River narrows near Bluffdale. And earthmovers are busy digging away at the hillside there just to make room for a second track.

There also is the matter of 30 bridges -- 28 more than UTA had to erect for FrontRunner north to Ogden.

PROVO (Deseret News)  — On Thursday and Friday, the Provo City Landmarks Commission will host its annual Provo City Historic Home tours. The self-guided tour is free. A reception at the Provo Library at Academy Square follows on Friday with remarks by local historian and author D. Robert Clark.

The landmarks commission again is joining with the Utah Division of State History, the National Parks Service and the Freedom Festival to produce the tour of buildings listed on the local and National Historic Registers, commission Chairman Randy Christiansen said.

PROVO — Habitat for Humanity recently received a sizeable donation to support its quest to get low-income people into homes of their own.

G.E. Capital Financial Inc. recently donated $20,000 to assist a family of nine this summer, said Kena Jo Mathews, Habitat's executive director.

The family and volunteers plan to build the home in southeast Spanish Fork, off Canyon Road. On the open market, the five-bedroom, two-bath home would be worth about $200,000, Mathews said.

PROVO — Landlord Scott Davidson calls it a "common coincidence" that people who once lived in the 1915 house he bought in 2006 are still in the area and like to talk about their experience when he is out working in the yard.

Many of the people who walk by the house at 175 W. 200 South remember living there or in the neighborhood more than 35 years ago, Davidson said. Often, they like to share their emotional ties to the early 20th century houses and basement apartments they once rented.

The Shops at Riverwoods in Provo is facing foreclosure after its owners, Terranet Investments LLC, failed to make mortgage payments in November, December and January. According to an article in The Enterprise, Bank of America is seeking outstanding principal plus interest of $30.6 million. Commerce CRG of Salt Lake City collects rents from retailers, manages the facility and undertakes sale of the property.  The development is 65 percent occupied. Stores that have closed at Riverwoods include Eddie Bauer, Copeland Sports, The Gap, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.