The outline of a fledgling auto center is coming into focus. Tenants are filling an office tower that's not yet built. A gigantic apartment complex is ready to go.
A few sewer design problems aside, things seem to be falling into place for several frontage road projects that create the gateway into this city of 25,000.City officials have their fingers crossed that the highlight of the region will be an auto mall that could generate a much-needed tax base for the city. While South Jordan has flourished as a bedroom community, it has attracted scant commercial business, and most of its budget comes from property tax revenue.
Automobile industry experts and interested dealers agree growth in this pocket of the valley makes it the place to be, and at least two have committed to land in the area.
Jerry Seiner has an option on a land parcel between 10200 South and 10600 South and bordering I-15 west to a set of railroad tracks. The company has plans to bring a dealership to the area, said Keith Snarr, economic development director for South Jordan.
Nearby, on a 22-acre site between 11000 and 11400 South, another as-yet-unnamed car dealer may bring as many as four dealerships to the area, Snarr said. One may be open as early as late summer. He's had conversations with several other auto dealers, but none of them have yet committed.
The city's vision for an auto mall has simple roots. An auto is a large-ticket retail item, and because sales tax is partially distributed by the location of the point of the sale, an auto mall could mean big bucks for the city.
Jerry Hayes, president of the Utah Automobile Dealers Association, says growth in the valley's southern end make it an increasingly attractive place for auto franchises. People want to buy and have their cars serviced close to their home, he said.
But two factors create uncertainty about the migration to 10600 South: Gov. Mike Leavitt has not yet signed a new state franchise law that puts restrictions on where dealers can locate, and turmoil within top American car manufacturers also trickles down to the Utah market.
General Motors has announced it will significantly reduce its number of dealers nationwide. "Dealers have been put on notice they want them consolidated," Hayes said. At the same time, Chrysler is increasing dealerships.
Local dealers should know the effects of these decisions early this summer.
The local automobile industry aside, it's still a busy stretch west of I-15 though South Jordan.
Road construction, sewer design, highway improvement and development projects have engineers from a variety of firms crawling on top of each other, Snarr said.
"It's going to be complicated for the next little while," Snarr said. "But it's all going to click and fall into place."
Staffers are reviewing a developer's plans for an 880-unit apartment complex, and expansion of the Tower building at South Towne, north of 10600 South along the frontage road, is moving along.
A glitch in design plans for sewer service into the area has held up the process a little and Towers executives are anxious to get going. "As fast as those guys can get it in, we can get started," said Jim Morse, head of the three-building Towers project that includes restaurants, a hotel, theaters and an office tower.
City Administrator Dave Millheim said Micron's recent decision to stop work on its $2.5 billion plant might help development along the freeway frontage.
"We thought we would be bidding against a lean construction pool. Now it might be cheaper for us to get it done," he said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Development
The Towers at South Towne
The Towers II office/hotel
Towers development
- 150 room Country Inn suites
- Francesco's
- 9-screen Keel theaters
Auto dealership
60-room motel
Pegasus development
- 880 luxury apartments
Auto dealerships