West Valley creates a CDA for revamped center

Work toward a revamped city center progressed Tuesday night when the West Valley City Council created a community-development area (CDA) that allows the city to use future tax revenue to fund the project.

The planned 258-acre development west of I-215 includes the Valley Fair Mall, City Hall and businesses along 3500 South, said West Valley spokesman Aaron Crim.

"We're working to develop a city center," Crim said, "and basically the area that surrounds City Hall is the main focus right now. We want to bring in anything — from businesses to residential to open space — to really make it a walkable community."

Most of the plans for the project are still conceptual, he said, but recent talks have focused on an open-space plaza on the Valley Fair Mall property. City officials also have discussed putting hotels in the area.

Costco, the anchor of the Valley Fair Mall redevelopment, is set to begin construction in March, Crim said. The rest of the mall renovation also is expected to get under way in the spring.