Builder sees big market

PLEASANT GROVE — Plans to build a $200 million outdoor retail development in Pleasant Grove were announced on Wednesday, just months after plans for a shopping complex in neighboring Lehi were unveiled.

Combined, the projects, called Sundance Commons and The Terrace at Traverse Mountain, will bring 2.5 million square feet of new retail and business space to north Utah County by 2010. And that begs the question: Is there enough business in the north part of Utah Valley to support both developments?

Westwood Development Group, the firm building 105-acre Sundance Commons in Pleasant Grove, is confident it can.

"Right now there is enough," Westwood CEO Mike Bowen said. "We have an unserved market right now, without any growth. You can support a high-quality project with zero growth, so any growth you get is just bonus."

Bowen said the needs of all shoppers in the area are not being met.

"If you're living here and you want to go shopping, you're driving a long way," he said. "The typical rule of thumb for a larger project is 15-20 minutes (driving time). I would be willing to bet the vast majority of the population here regularly drives more than 15 minutes to go shopping."

But having to build without any population growth is not likely a challenge Bowen's firm will face. According to the Utah Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, Utah County's population is projected to grow 1.6 percent from 2005 to 2010, from 454,000 to 527,000.

Median household incomes for cities in north Utah County are also well above the national median of $46,000, ranging from $52,000 in American Fork and Pleasant Grove to $80,000 in Highland.

Then add in plans for the Mountain View Corridor, which, if built to plans, would join I-15 at the new Pleasant Grove interchange — right where Sundance Commons is to be built.

The corridor would be a direct funnel to the shopping center from such cities as Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, two of Utah's fastest-growing communities.

Even though his project is in a strong location, Bowen acknowledges it isn't on easy street. Bowen said he expects tough competition from The Terrace and its developers, Forest City Development, particularly given the strength the project will have with Cabela's as its anchor store.

"(The Terrace) is very similar," he said. "Retailers are what are going to differentiate. They are going to decide where they want to go and where they don't want to go."