Holladay retail's fate unknown

HOLLADAY — City officials could face another scathing meeting Thursday about redeveloping a key intersection in this city.

Residents want to see the plans, but the council doesn't have any.

But some Holladay officials would prefer to wait on specific plans for the intersection of 2300 East, Murray-Holladay Road and Holladay Boulevard until they know what will happen to the ghost of a spot that once was Cottonwood Mall.

The mall's owners aren't saying — or don't know — what they'll do with the outdated behemoth, but other cities have provided models about how to handle passe indoor malls with their food courts and miles of parking lots.

In June, hundreds of Holladay residents filled a school gym to castigate city officials for the Village Center redevelopment agency project, or RDA. Residents were furious about a sweeping blight study and wary of the potential use of eminent domain, even though it is currently illegal in Utah to seize property for economic development. Residents also wanted assurances that large national retailers would be barred from the Village Center so decades-old businesses wouldn't be threatened. Residents may again fill Holladay Elementary School 7 p.m. Thursday to hear about the 59-acre project, which calls for a walkable community with boutique shops, restaurants, off-street parking and local retailers.

The city wants it to complement the mall about a mile to the east. Holladay Mayor Dennis Webb wishes he knew a bit more about the plan for Cottonwood Mall before he tries to find a specific proposal for the Village Center RDA.

"It makes it a little difficult to move forward with the Village Center when you don't know all that is entailed and what will happen at the Cottonwood Mall," Webb said. But, "we can't wait forever and we don't intend to wait forever."

If General Growth Properties, which has owned Cottonwood Mall for three years and acquired Fashion Place Mall in November, has plans for the spot, the company isn't saying much.

It has been trying to concoct plans for both malls that will accentuate Holladay strengths, said JP Swain, marketing director for Cottonwood Mall.

"I wish we had more of a story to tell right now," Swain said. "It's going to be something unique to the Salt Lake valley and to the area, but we're waiting for the specifics."

Malls throughout the Wasatch Front have explored different options. The new incarnation of the Ogden City Mall includes a recreation complex, housing, and shops that hearken back to Ogden's younger days. Orem redeveloped the University Mall by adding outside entrances to some stores and increasing restaurants, which now have long waits on weekends.