Davis Costco construction to start

WEST BOUNTIFUL — Watch for the dirt to start flying soon in South Davis County when construction begins on the first phase of the West Bountiful Commons project of which Costco is the anchor tenant.

The three-phase project will be located on most of the property between 1-15 and 500 West and 400 North and 200 South.

"We hope to begin construction sometime this month," said Armand Johansen, a partner in the Salt Lake firm Johansen-Thackeray, the project's developer. "We're actually doing some asbestos remediation in some of the (soon-to-be-demolished) buildings now."

That's good news for south Davis County warehouse club aficionados, who have to head north to Layton or south to Salt Lake to shop at one of the discounters.

Not everyone is happy with the project's progress, however. Artoosh Hasratian, owner of the El Matador Restaurant, is one of approximately 30 business owners forced to vacate to make way for the new project. With a little more than six years left on his lease, Hasratian has been offered a settlement by the developer, but, he says it is not nearly enough to allow him to relocate.

Hasratian, whose restaurant has been at its current location for almost 30 years, says he's upset that the redevelopment project has made it possible for so many business owners to be displaced.

"I single-handedly have put West Bountiful on the map. When I came over here, this place was like the Sahara Desert," he stated. " I have customers who come in here 15 to 20 times a month." The El Matador serves between 3,000 and 4,000 customers a week and has many employees who have worked there almost since the restaurant opened its doors. Hasratian, an Armenian-born immigrant, who has been in Utah since 1960, feels obligated to stay in business to provide for his employees and customers.

"I think RDAs in America are legally terrorizing the public. If it were legitimate and used for what it was meant for, I'd be the first to move over. If they need to do a road, build a hospital or a school, that's fine. But, my goodness, not for big business to get bigger and to make money while all the rest of us suffer."

Johansen noted that although Hasratian has yet to sign the agreement, the project will go on as scheduled.

"We've given him a proposal, and we're waiting for him to respond," Johansen noted, saying the developer will "carve him out and let him stay a little longer."