CLEARFIELD — When you talk about big buildings in Davis County, you can't find one that is taller than 120 feet.

There are a few four- and five-story office buildings, but they are going to be considered short compared to what's coming.

Tuesday, Clearfield officials, as well as a developer and contractor, broke ground on what will be Davis County's tallest building: Midtown Village at Legend Hills.

The U-shaped 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development will feature two eight-story towers, mostly comprising residential living space. The towers will stretch to 120 feet and will have even more splendid views of Antelope Island than the land itself already has.

Dignitaries took turns Tuesday riding a hydraulic lift 120 feet in the air to see what top-floor residents will see when the first phase of the building opens in early 2010.

When Clearfield officials first met developer Larry Myler about 18 months ago, they were on the lookout for something to bring some vitality to Clearfield.

Larry Myler, who is creating a Midtown Village brand, had begun construction on a similar building in Orem, which is slated to open its first phase next week.

Clearfield Mayor Don Wood asked Myler to come up to Clearfield to have a look around to see if Midtown Village could have a home in northern Davis County.

Myler paid a visit and found some suitable land at the intersection of state Route 193 and University Park Boulevard.

"They were so impressed that very day they made on offer on this piece of ground," Wood said Tuesday.

Midtown Village at Legend Hills, which will be located on the east side of Clearfield, will cost $150 million to build and includes two levels of underground parking for residents of Midtown's 350 condominiums.

The first floor above ground is designed for retail, and other floors are slated for office space. A 900-seat performing-arts theater is also planned.

Wood called Midtown Village at Legend Hills "a symbol of what a public-private partnership can be at its very best."

Myler said this project has a lot of firsts for him.

He's never had a mayor and his "posse" come down to his office and demand he come to their city.

He's never made a full-price offer on land and paid $500,000 more than his offer for it because it was worth it.

He's never had a city councilman "second the hell" out of a motion to approve a development agreement.

And he's never had a contractor jump on board a project as a partner in it, which is what happened with C&A Construction.

Brian Bird, president of C&A, said construction should begin in March, and Midtown's three phases will be built depending on sales of condominiums.

Each phase is designed to stand on its own until sales warrant further building, Bird said.

Myler is confident Midtown Village at Legend Hills will be developed faster than Midtown Village-Orem, because the Orem building is his first such complex. Land acquisition on that project took 5 1/2 years.

In Clearfield, it took weeks.

But Myler doesn't plan to stop in Clearfield.

He said he has pitched the Midtown Village model and/or has begun securing land in Ogden; Pleasant Grove; Park City; Idaho Falls; Fort Collins, Colo.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Richton Park, Ill.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com