Holladay intersection focus of RDA

Traffic snarls at the star-shaped intersection of Holladay Boulevard, Murray-Holladay Road and 2300 East.

On one corner, the former building of a local video retailer now houses a temporary art sale, with some windows covered by planks of plywood. Sidewalks abruptly end, trail off into asphalt parking lots, or thrust upward with cracks, and curbs sporadically rim the parking lots. The mix of businesses include anything from burrito joint Barbacoa to patisserie Bakers De Normandie to a collection of hair salons and smaller specialty stores — a tanning salon, home-accents store, dry cleaners, framing shop and a 70-year-old pharmacy.

The mix of old, dilapidated buildings and new, upscale retailers brings down the area, Holladay officials said, and the successful shops in the intersection could use a boost from the city by way of a redevelopment agency project, also known as an RDA.

But some residents and business owners in the area oppose the idea, saying they don't want the familiar character of their surroundings to change.

Both perspectives can air their concerns at an informal public meeting Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the former Holladay elementary school, 4580 S. 2300 East. There, the city will display plans of the 57-acre stretch and take questions. Another public hearing is scheduled for June 29 at 7 p.m.

Redevelopment agencies have traditionally used eminent domain and blight declarations to snag property for redevelopment. An RDA diverts property taxes from a new development back into city rejuvenation projects. In some cases, cities have used the funds for infrastructure costs associated with the development at the expense of schools, who otherwise would collect those taxes.

In its 2005 session, the Utah Legislature put a one-year moratorium on RDAs and forbade the use of eminent domain for private development. Holladay squeaked its project in before the Feb. 24 deadline for the moratorium.

The city hired MHTN Architects to design a walkable village center. Their proposal includes lots of vegetation, sidewalks (the current sidewalks are cracked, broken, or nonexistent), off-street parking behind storefronts, and shops clustered by theme — house and home, leisure and lifestyle, cultural and civic, eateries and services, specialty retail and convenience retailers. Holladay City owns the property on one corner, which officials said they would use to shift the intersection as close as possible to a four-way, perpendicular junction.