Montgomery Ward, a Chicago-based retailer that once had a presence in Utah, is returning to the state with construction of speciality stores at South Towne Mall in Sandy and Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, the Deseret News has learned.
Although MW officials won't talk about the projects, officials who own South Towne said the MW store there will open in August 1995. Officials of the company that owns Valley Fair Mall said they are still negotiating with MW, but progress is being made.Also, Ray Kingston, a partner in the Salt Lake architectural firm of FFKR, said the firm has been retained by Montgomery Ward to do the design work on at least one of the stores.
In addition to Montgomery Ward returning to Utah after a lengthy absence, Tim Bruce, senior vice president of real estate for Equity Properties and Development, the Chicago-based company that owns South Towne, said he is selling 14 acres at 10400 S. State, east of South Towne Mall, to Wal-Mart, the Bentenville, Ark., firm that has several stores in Utah.
Bruce said the new Wal-Mart will be open in November and will be north of the Brunswick Bowling Lanes, 10535 S. State.
Mike Coulam, community development director for Sandy City, and George Shaw, Sandy planning director, said Montgomery Ward's plans have been submitted to the Sandy Planning Commission, but Wal-Mart hasn't submitted any plans yet.
Coulam said the Wal-Mart store will be similar to others in Utah with an automotive center and nursery and common access with the bowling center.
Gerardo Ruiz, public relations coordinator for Wal-Mart, said the company has no announcement about a new Wal-Mart in Sandy at this time. Wal-Mart stores operate in Taylorsville; Tooele; Park City; Orem, Murray, Riverdale, Layton, Vernal, North Logan and St. George and a mammoth distribution center in Hurricane, Washington County.
Serena Butler, director of corporate communications for Montgomery Ward, a company operating 360 stores in 39 states, wouldn't comment on negotiations about new stores. She said the company has between 30 and 50 projects going at once and some of them work out and some don't.
"I can assure you that Montgomery Ward is not opening a new store in Utah in 1994," Butler said, but declined comment about 1995. She said Montgomery Ward sells apparel, fine jewelry, electronics and appliances, automotive parts and accessories and furniture.
Richard Eichler, senior vice president of Safeco Properties Co., Seattle, parent company of Winmar, which owns Valley Fair Mall, acknowledged that he has had discussions with Montgomery Ward people, but no commitment has been signed. "We are moving in a positive direction," he said.
If a new Montgomery Ward is built at Valley Fair, it will be on the west side of the mall and take some of the parking space. Eichler said the mall still will have adequate parking. It will be similar to a new Mervyn's store built on the east side of Valley Fair several years ago.
Bruce said the Montgomery Ward building at South Towne will have 112,520 square feet on two levels that will be built on the west side of the mall and be visible from I-15. The company also will build a free-standing 9,000 square-foot automobile sales and service center.
Combined with a new Mervyn's being built at South Towne, the new Montgomery Ward and Wal-Mart stores will have a dramatic economic impact in the area.
Montgomery Ward once operated a store on the southeast corner of 100 South and Main. It was closed in 1960 and later became an office of Tracy Collins Bank & Trust, which later became West One Bank. West One still has a branch in the building.
In 1985, Montgomery Ward ended its catalog sales because it had lost $50 million in the previous five years.