Village Center moves toward planning phase
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The empty lot, once home to the Video Verns store in Holladay, may finally look different at this time next year. New developers, Rockworth Companies, received approval on the development agreement and are moving forward with Holladay’s Village Center project.
A resolution that passed quietly and unanimously at the Dec. 8 Holladay City Council meeting didn’t sound monumental, but it was the solid step Rockworth Developers needed to begin the next phase for the Village Center project. The council adopted the development agreement for the revised two-story mixed-use project on the northwest corner of Holladay Boulevard and Murray-Holladay Road.
“What you just heard sounded relatively simple, but it has actually been many, many, many months in the making,” Councilmember Lynn Pace said. “I commend all of those that worked so hard and put in the long hours.”
Transitioning developers from Cowboy Partners, who were awarded the initial bid in November 2005, to Rockworth Companies in September 2011, has been a process that has gone quicker than most expected. Not having the hurdles of convincing a reticent council on a three-story building with residential in the heart of the city, Rockworth developers have efficiently moved forward without much opposition.
Community Development Director Paul Allred said the city settled with Cowboy Partners to take care of the costs associated with the work put into the project, and characterized the approval of the development agreement to be a “big deal.” A release was signed just before the holiday season allowing Rockworth to begin firm plans.
Although the initial timeline to start construction was optimistic and is already obsolete, Rockworth developer Tom Henriod said the plans to break ground in mid-2012 still stand.
“We are looking at a 90 to 120-day period for our architects to draw up plans, have them reviewed and approved,” Henriod said. “After that, it will take about a month to break ground and we will have approximately a nine to ten-month construction period.”
Once the development plans have been drawn, they will go through the city’s design review board, technical review committee and planning commission for approval.
Henriod said he felt positively about the way the project is moving forward, and everyone at the city level has been working hard to overcome any obstacles.
“We are really encouraged and excited to get started,” Henriod said.
