TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – The city of Taylorsville got a fresh start, when crews demolished buildings at The Family Center. It’s phase one of a huge economic development project in the city.
A lot of the buildings at The Family Center located at 5400 South and Redwood Road are outdated and many of them are now vacant. The new shopping center will be called The Crossroads of Taylorsville. City leaders hope the project will be a comeback story.
“Taylorsville city is coming back, I promise you,” Mayor of Taylorsville Larry Johnson said at the demolition party on Tuesday. “And it’s coming back strong, as you can tell now.”
The city is working with developers to put in new retail space.
“People are excited,” Johnson said. “This has been a long time coming. I’ve lived here 59 years, and I’ve seen a lot of quiet times through here and had to go elsewhere to shop and eat so this is really special for me.”
Johnson said with the high traffic coming through the area, they wanted to keep up with neighboring cities, improve their outdated buildings and give the city a new look.
“And it’s taken some time to draw things up and so this is the beginning of a new era for Taylorsville, and we’re excited and I think our residents are excited,” he said.
Phase one includes putting in new retail space, restaurants and a movie theater.
Phase two, which extends beyond The Crossroads, includes building three new office buildings, more affordable housing and revamping parks and trails. In the future, there are plans to build a new senior assisted living center near 6200 South, east of Bangerter Highway.
“So what you’re going to be seeing a year, a year and a half from now, is totally different from what you’re seeing today,” said developer William Stone.
Those who live in the area say they’re looking forward to the change.
“We watched these buildings go down and now we’re watching them go up,” said Taylorsville resident Phil Grothaus.
The new shopping center is a five- to eight-year project, but city officials say people can expect the new movie theater and some shops and restaurants to open in the next couple years.
“This is going to be a place, again, that people are going to come to shop and enjoy themselves,” Johnson said. “This will bring us back on the map where we used to be.”
