West Jordan mulls future of old Sugar Factory

WEST JORDAN — The twin gray spires of the old empty Sugar Factory in West Jordan reach tall toward the crisp blue sky — the building's future a question mark.

What once stood as a bustling sugar-processing plant at 8200 S. 2200 West could be transformed into an arts academy using city impact fees. Or it could be torn down and the money spent on a park.

This decision lies with the West Jordan City Council. The city is studying a public input survey before taking final action.

About 50 people showed up to Wednesday's council meeting, speaking emotionally on both sides of the issue.

"None of us are against the arts," said Melissa Worthen, resident of the 550-home Sycamores development on the far west side of the city. "But these are our impact fees, and we want a park. We want a beautiful area with trees and grass — places for our kids to play. We don't have one walkable area."

However, West Jordan resident Maren Lundgren sang the praises of theater. "We want a place to perform, to do what we love to do," Lundgren said. "That's all that we want, all that we need."

The council plans to meet in a special study session Sept. 29 to discuss the opinion survey, potential architectural plans, project costs and fundraising efforts.

Arts enthusiast David Newton, West Jordan's mayor from 2006 to 2010, during his term supported the approval of $1 million in impact fees for saving the Sugar Factory and transforming it into an arts academy.

The arts complex proposal has been under consideration since July 2003. The proposed plan includes performance areas for theater, dance and music groups. There could be an art gallery, rooms for art classes and an outdoor amphitheater.

The council spent almost an hour in heated debate Wednesday night before voting 4-3 to allocate $195,000 to the Sugar Factory instead of the originally slated $1 million. The money will be kept in a reserve fund to be used for matching dollars in fundraising efforts for the Sugar Factory until the council decides how to proceed.

Mayor Melissa Johnson stands against spending the funds to fix up the old building.

"There are all kinds of other options to support the arts other than a renovation project," Johnson said.

The mayor said she believes a better plan is to tear the factory down and construct a more energy-efficient building for an arts complex — if an arts building is indeed what the public wants.