From Deseret News archives:
Clearfield planners to vote on mixed-use project
Passage likely in wake of hearing on city's general plan
The commission held a public hearing on a change to the city's general plan Wednesday night to allow housing and retail shops to be built in an area that had been zoned commercial.
"It's going to pass," commission chairman Mark Shepherd told the Deseret Morning News. Work on the project could begin in spring 2007.
City leaders tout the project as the first of its kind in Davis County. The eight-story-high center would have more than 1 million square feet. In comparison, Salt Lake City's Gateway is about 2.6 million square feet.
The 11-acre "lifestyle" center, tentatively called Midtown Village at Legend Hills, is based on a similar project on Orem's State Street called Midtown Village-Orem, which is now being built by development company Midtown Village. Midtown Village at Legend Hills is slated to be located at the intersection of U-193 and University Park Boulevard.
"This will be such an unbelievable asset for Clearfield," Shepherd said. "This will put Clearfield on the map."
The Midtown Village concept incorporates residential, office, retail, recreation and entertainment components, said Chris Hillman, Clearfield city manager. Plans include a performing-arts theater with at least 500 seats and time-share condominiums.
If things fall into place, the theater, like the one in Midtown Village-Orem, could be run by Hale Centre Theatre, city and company officials said.
The city owns about 15 acres nearby that could be transformed into parks, Hillman said.
"The city is trying to create win-win situation for the developer and the residents of Clearfield," Hillman said.
Hillman, a former city manager of Eagle Mountain, said he thought Midtown Village would make a good fit for Clearfield when he became Clearfield's city manager earlier this year. A meeting with the developer in Orem in August led to meetings in Clearfield a week later with city staff and the landowner. The developer then put money down to hold the land, Hillman said.
Midtown Village has leased a space in the Layton Hills Mall to promote the development, Hillman said.
Rob Storey, marketing manager for Midtown Village, said the Midtown Village name has been trademarked and he hopes to sell the concept in other Utah cities and nationwide. He considers Midtown Village-Orem a success, with all residential units and retail units sold, although the south wing won't be completed until spring.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
