West Salt Lake Cities Dodge Economic Slowdown
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 12:39
Taylorsville recorded the highest number of building permit valuations during the first quarter of this year since its incorporation in 1996. Pictured, clockwise from top left, is the Center Pointe Plaza, Nelson Laboratories, Great Harvest and Sorenson Research Building VIII, all new development in Taylorsville. Photos courtesy Taylorsville.
Despite the slowdown in the economy, cities west of I-15 are experiencing the advantage of locale and the expansion of commerce through economic development.
Chamber West President Alan Anderson said Taylorsville, West Valley City and Kearns are unique in the type of commerce they bring to the area, but their location — just 15 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City — plays an important role in their economic success.
West Valley City has capitalized on its proximity to Utah’s capital by becoming a destination center, Anderson said.
“This part of the West side seems to be doing quite well,” Director of Economic Development Brent Garlick said. “Some of it is location. We are in a great location here in the valley. Developers see a real opportunity here.”
The city, which recently opened two hotels, with another set to open this month, offers a variety of events at its E Center, including the Days of ’47 Rodeo to be held there later this year. The events held at the center encourage development in the restaurant and lodging industries, he said. Now residents and visitors can stay just outside of downtown Salt Lake and avoid the extra cost of expensive hotels and metered parking, Anderson said.
“In a tightened economy, it is a good placed to be,” Anderson said.
Additional restaurants to the West Valley area include Café Rio, Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Chatters. Valley Fair Mall, which is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar makeover, will also house several new restaurants, including In-N-Out Burger, Wingers, T.G.I. Friday’s, Olive Garden, Red Robin and Texas Roadhouse, Anderson said.
Across from Valley Fair Mall, West Valley is moving forward on its city center project — an open-air intermodal center for public transit. Garlick said the city has purchased land surrounding the city center with the intent to improve it with office space and high-rise, residential buildings.
West Valley also has plans to develop nearly 30 acres near its Utah Cultural Center on 3500 South. The development, Jordan River Marketplace, would be an international-type market place, Garlick said. Hopes are to begin work on the project near the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010.
Other projects that are underway or recently completed in West Valley include the 100,000-square-foot Winco food store at 5600 South, the Highbury Estates, an Ivory Homes development with more than 100 units already built and the SR201 Commerce Center, a $25 million, LEED project managed by The Argent Group. Hexcel, a manufacturing company located in southwest West Valley, is also undergoing a $400 million expansion over the next five to eight years, Garlick said.
“We are definitely not standing still,” Garlick said. “In comparison with other areas, we are doing very well. (But) compared to what could have happened if the economy hadn’t gone south, we are probably a little slower.”
The economic improvements to the West Valley area will encourage business along the 5600 West corridor and residents in the area will be more likely to stay close to home and shop local, Anderson said. He anticipates the improvements in Taylorsville will have similar results.
Taylorsville is utilizing its location near downtown Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake International Airport to become a center for science and technology, Economic Development Director Keith Snarr said.
In the medical industry, Legacy Memory Care and Rehabilitation Facility, at 3269 W. 5400 South, is building a new 60,000-square-foot, $8 million, 87-unit facility. And the Sorenson Research Building VIII, 4215 S. Riverboat Road, owned by Sorenson Communications which developed Video Relay Service to allow communication for the hearing impaired, is a 78,000-square-foot expansion in the community.
A number of technology centers are also locating or expanding in Taylorsville, Snarr said. These include Nelson Laboratories, a 50,000-square-foot, $14 million building that will employ another 185 people, and Unified State Laboratory, an 81,000-square-foot, $31 million facility that will house the state medical, crime and Department of Agriculture labs.
Besides growth in the science and technology sector, Taylorsville is seeing development elsewhere within the city boundaries. America First Credit Union recently opened at 2715 W. 5400 South. Center Pointe Plaza, a 35,995-square-foot office building, recently opened on Redwood Road. Great Harvest Bread relocated to a strip retail mall also on Redwood Road. And the Utah State Liquor Store was just renovated and expanded, Snarr said.
With all of the construction in the area during the first quarter of this year, Taylorsville recorded the highest number of building permit valuations since its incorporation in 1996, Snarr said.
“It has been a very busy time even though the economy has been very challenging,” Snarr said.
Kearns is just beginning to see development within its city limits, Anderson said. Salt Lake County is working to redevelop parts of Kearns, especially along 5600 West and the northwest corner of the city.
Although the Kearns has yet to grow like its counterparts, West Valley City and Taylorsville, Anderson said the community is capitalizing on its assets, which primarily relate to parks and recreation. Kearns currently relies on the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, the Utah Olympic Oval, the Kearns Recreation Center and other local parks to encourage economic development, he said.
Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce President Lane Beattie addressed development on the west side of the county at the June General Membership meeting for Chamber West. He expressed his satisfaction with the growth in the area.
“We are very pleased to see the growth going on in West Valley,” Beattie said.
Beattie sympathized with attendees of the meeting saying that the same challenges that face the municipalities in the Chamber West area are similar to those other cities in the state are addressing. He said the No. 1 problem facing economic development is transportation.
Taylorsville and West Valley are facing that problem head on. These municipalities are anticipating further economic growth with the addition of public transit and the completion of road construction projects in the area.
Several road projects are ongoing in Taylorsville, many of which are along Redwood Road and Bangerter Highway, Snarr said. Studies are currently underway to explore the expansion of transit from the Murray hub to Taylorsville. And Utah Department of Transportation is considering a reversible traffic lane and Utah Transit Authority is considering bus rapid transit along 5400 South through Taylorsville, he said.
Bus rapid transit will also appear in West Valley City with the redevelopment of 3500 South, Anderson said. The system will allow for buses to run between Magna and the 3500 South Trax station, he said.
In addition, the West Side Coalition is working to improve east-to-west mobility to encourage economic growth on the west side of the county, Anderson said. The coalition is taking a proactive stance to deal with growth that will come to the west side of Salt Lake County, he said.
All of these transportation improvements in the Chamber West area will play a key role in making these cities even more viable, Anderson said.
“Transportation is such a critical element to conducting commerce,” Anderson said. “If we have efficient and good transportation, people will do business.”
Once more efficient transportation is put in place, Anderson believes commerce will continue to grow in the area.
“There’s a lot of things lined up,” Garlick said. “Numerous businesses are thinking of expanding or relocating, but financing seems to be the big catch right now. Developers would love to move ahead.”
Once the economy picks back up, Garlick believes developers will be able to obtain financing and move forward with some of the projects that have been put on hold. Then the west side of Salt Lake County will see even more growth, he said.
“I think the future is very bright for us,” he said.
By Kelly Lux
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