VINEYARD — The land west of I-15 near Orem may not look like much right now, but in a few years, the former Geneva Steel site may be home to shops, homes and even a commuter hub.

Vineyard town and Anderson Geneva Development Inc. are looking at potential uses for the 1,700 acres of lake front property, but there won't be any signs of life for a while, at least not until the large plot of land goes through an environmental cleanup.

Geneva Steel opened in 1944 and finally closed its doors in 2001. The main smoke stacks were demolished in 2005, and piece by piece the plant is being dismantled and shipped to China.

The area is still zoned industrial, although Anderson Geneva Development Inc. may apply for rezones to allow residential, retail and even light industrial firms in the area.

The group is hoping to have some commercial space available by mid-2007 said Dennis Astill, project manager and attorney for Anderson Geneva Development.

Vineyard is waiting for the cleanup process to be complete before addressing development specifics, said Bruce Parker, principal consultant for Planning and Development Services of Vineyard.

In the meantime, Vineyard also is looking at transportation options, with the possibility of an intermodal hub or commuter rail station hub in the middle of the town.

"There's a portion of the track where both our light rail line and our commuter rail line meet up in Vineyard, creating an opportunity ... for a hub of sorts," said UTA spokesman Justin Jones.

Specifics are still up in the air because most everything is on hold until Utah's Department of Environmental Quality finishes testing, evaluating and cleaning up what they call "hot spots" of past contamination on the former factory land.

State officials have estimated that within a decade most environmental cleanup will be done and homes will be built at the site.

With those projections, Vineyard wants to ensure it is ready for a population boom.

The Town and Planning Council each recently met with a planning facilitator to discuss the qualities of the agricultural town and how to preserve those in the midst of growth.

The town's vision statement lays out its desire to have "rural living in a well-planned, independent municipality," and a desire to preserve open space, broaden the tax base and have adequate access in and around the community.

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