Projects for Taylorsville, Utah, include healthcare, office parks, retail

Dec. 8--Amid the economic downturn, building is booming in Taylorsville.

The west-side Salt Lake County burg of 59,000 people is on track to have its biggest quarter -- by dollar value of new developments -- since it incorporated in 1996. And two developers appear close to agreeing to fill in the sprawling pad of dirt that surrounds Taylorsville City Hall.

"The economy is in a nose dive, but we're still holding our own," said Taylorsville Economic Development Director Keith Snarr.

So far in the fourth quarter of 2008, building permits have been issued for $39 million worth of construction. Another $7 million project, an Alzheimer center/rehabilitation clinic, is due to start work this month, said Community Development Director Mark McGrath.

"There's a renewed interest in closer-in communities," McGrath said. "Businesses want to be closer to [Salt Lake City] rather than in far-flung suburbs and exurbs."

Construction could start as soon as spring, Snarr said, on the vacant 10 acres that front City Hall near 2700 West and 5400 South. For at least five years, Taylorsville has envisioned a bustling shopping center on the property that would help transform the area into an identifiable city center.

Negotiations are under way with two developers interested in buying the land as separate, 5-acre parcels, Snarr said.

Eventually, that could offer some "synergism" to a mixed-use project planned kitty-corner from City Hall, said developer Eldon

Haacke. Already, an America First Credit Union is nearly complete at the site, dubbed Harker Crossing.

Other projects in the works in Taylorsville include two, multistory office buildings and a strip mall. The state, which doesn't need a building permit from Taylorsville, is constructing a $31 million facility at 4501 S. 2700 West for its public-health laboratories.

Taylorsville is an appealing commercial location because of its proximity to Interstate 215, Interstate 15, Salt Lake City International Airport and other supporting businesses, such as restaurants, said Steve Bogden, a vice president at Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT.

"Taylorsville has all of those [advantages], but in order to sell it, they have a very aggressive economic-development program," Bogden said. "They really push it. Some communities just sit back and wait for developers to knock on their door."