Residents at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley will soon have a new place to spend their extra dough.
The District, a Gateway-style shopping center, is scheduled to open in South Jordan sometime next spring.
It will sit on 86 acres of property between 11400 South and 11800 South and 3600 West and the Bangerter Highway. It features 10 or 11 main anchor stores, a number of restaurants, a grocery store, Target, sporting goods, craft and hobby stores and a 20-screen Larry H. Miller Megaplex.
The central shopping district will be the same size as the Gateway, with a main street running through it and a fountain to possibly serve as a meeting place. The plans also call for a roundabout to help traffic flow. Construction started last spring and is right on schedule.
"We hope by this fall to have most of the parking, paving and landscaping done so we can open by the spring of 2006," said Wade Williams, director of retail development for the Boyer Company, which is partnering with Arbor Commercial on the project.
The first phase of the project includes the main development of the Gateway-style center and the major businesses and will cost around $120 million with future phases to develop land on the southern end of the property costing an additional $50 million. The project is being financed with commercial funds, while off-site costs are being taken care of with redevelopment funds generated by the project.
Gary Whatcott, South Jordan assistant city manager, said the project's timing is perfect.
"I think the timing's about right with Herriman's population taking off so much in the last few years. The western part of Riverton, West Jordan, all of that area is just taking off. It has the potential for more growth," he said. "(The District's location) is in the right place as far as convenience."
Despite having to deal with safety concerns and increased traffic, city officials still feel The District will have positive effects.
"I think it will certainly generate revenue, which is one of the benefits," Whatcott said. "We're going to get people coming into town. Overall, I think it will be a catalyst for other businesses to come around, perhaps office development, and it will create jobs for people."
While The District is predicted to bring increased revenue, provide greater convenience and attract new businesses to the city, not everyone is happy about its arrival. Residents directly across the street on 3600 West have many concerns about it.
Bailey Welch, whose family has lived on 3600 West for 11 years now, said the new shopping district's arrival has caused a number of problems for her family.
"The value of our house has gone down. That's the biggest impact it has had on my family," she said. Other frustrations include "the fact that our house is shaken every morning. There's increased traffic. It's taken the country out of the area, and now we're so close to everything else. I don't know why they had to put it here."
Welch says the buildings will block the view of sunsets and the open fields her family has always enjoyed. Now, their view will consist of the back of a building. Her family is also concerned about the welfare of the animals living on their property, especially as some of their land will be used for the road widening.
Bill Sudweeks, Welch's neighbor and another resident of 3600 West who has lived there for 20 years, says his worry is getting stuck on property with decreasing value.
"My primary concern is that I live right next to it, and I would really like the city or the developer to provide a way for us to move, so we don't have to be living next to The District. There's only four homes on 3600 West that have been left stranded like that," he said.
Whatcott said the city has been trying to work with the concerns of residents affected by The District's location, such as doing road alignments that won't create more traffic congestion. For the most part, there's nothing the city can do to alleviate other concerns such as the loss of aesthetic views or the area's rural feeling.
Welch says her family wishes the developers could have communicated with them beforehand.
"When they started building, they bought up everyone's houses without letting people know. They left us out of it. They should have involved us before, instead of after, the fact," she said.
Other neighbors around the corner, just off 11800 South, are more protected from the main drag leading up to The District and share Williams' enthusiasm over the project.
"I like it a lot just because it's a Gateway, and the stores are closer," said Rob Ninow. "Personally, I think it's a good thing. If I owned one of the homes right next to it I might feel differently."
His neighbor Sarah Devenberg shares the sentiment, with some reservation.
"I don't have a problem with it. If I have to go shopping it's closer. It's sad to see the houses over there go. My husband and I had friends over there," she said.
In light of many other malls around the valley, Williams still feels The District will hold its own.
"It's unique. The reason why we call it a shopping district is because it really is. It will have entertainment, shopping and will be in the southwest part of the valley where growth is occurring," he said.
South Jordan was chosen as the site for The District because of the growth, especially the 52-acre Daybreak development the Kennecott Corporation is building.
"This is a high-growth area with a lot of young families looking for service. It's at the entrance to Daybreak, which will ultimately have 14,000 homes and 40,000 people," Williams said. "It creates a crossroads for the southwest valley."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com