More jobs, better roads top priorities in coming year in Davis County

With a median income higher than the Utah average and an unemployment rate lower than the national average, Davis County is continuing to recover from the recession, Commission Chairman John Petroff Jr. said Tuesday.

But he added, "Even though we are doing better than average, we still need to do better. And we will."

The state’s low tax rates have made the area a prime location for expansion, according to Petroff. He said the Davis Unified Economic Development Group — which includes county and city leaders, real estate agents and others in the financial field — helps in the effort by identifying sites for various types of projects.

He also praised the nearly 900 Davis County employees, saying they provide services efficiently and work hard to sharpen their skills by getting certifications or continuing their education. Many are considered experts in their fields, he said.

Facts and statistics provided by Petroff include:

• Davis County, which is made up of 15 cities and Hill Air Force Base, covers 304 square miles and had approximately 312,000 residents as of 2011.
• The estimated median household income in 2010 was $64,840 in Davis County and $54,740 in Utah.
• The county unemployment rate as of December was 5.2 percent, one of the lowest in the nation.

Petroff, who spoke for about 10 minutes, has posted more information about the state of the county on www.co.davis.ut.us/. Salt Lake Tribune

Entrepreneurs Buy Powder Mountain to Set Up Startup Community

A conference operator targeting Silicon Valley entrepreneurs said Monday that it has acquired Powder
Mountain, the Eden, Utah-based ski resort, as the new headquarters for its entrepreneurial efforts. The
Summit Series, which runs a series of events aimed at Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs, said it has
acquired Powder Mountain as the "home base" for the organization, which is headed by Elliott Bisnow.
Financial details of the buy were not announced, however, reports placed the price at around $40M.
Powder Mountain is about 44 miles north of the Salt Lake International Airport, just northeast of Ogden.
The Summit invests in companies, and lists such companies as Warby Parker, Zaarly, Uber, ecomom,
Gobbler, SCribd, and others as portfolio companies. TechRockies

University of Utah Healthcare Buying Land, Expanding

The state Board of Regents has approved $19.4 million in land acquisition requests by the University of Utah to expand its clinical operations.

The U. proposes turning an existing four-building complex in Murray into dermatology and ophthalmology clinics. The university also hopes develop land in Farmington into a multi-specialty clinic that would enhance patient access and preserve U. market share in Davis County.

The nine-acre parcel in Murray carries a $14 million price tag.

"This location is the best we could find," said Randy Olson, CEO of the Moran Eye Center at the U. "It has access from all the major freeways. In the new environment of the Affordable Care Act we need to be very patient friendly."

And that means developing clinics closer to where patients live so they don’t have to travel to the U.’s crowded health-science campus for out-patient care, officials say.

Two of the buildings would be demolished to make way for a 60,000-square-foot clinical building, while the other two will be put out for lease. The project’s $30 million cost would be financed from hospital reserve funds and $10 million in revenue bonds the Legislature has approved, said Olson.

The clinics to be consolidated are housed at three leased locations, costing the university $550,000.

The U. also is looking at a 10.4-acre parcel in Farmington that Regents on Friday approved for acquisition with a cost at around $5.4 million. A proposed clinical facility would provide a variety of outpatient services to U. patients who live in Davis County.

The site is next to Farmington Station Park, where Interstate 15 and U.S. 89 meet near the Lagoon amusement park.

"We are considering changing away from inpatient activity to an outpatient arena that is closer to the patient," said Gordon Crabtree, the chief financial officer of the U.’s health-care network.

Other than a small clinic in Centerville and some dialysis centers, the U. does not have much of a footprint in Davis County. Salt Lake Tribune

Pleasant View, Farr West want to share a big box store

Two cities are gearing up for commercial development on 2700 North, specifically looking at approximately 80 acres known as the Randall property.

Both communities would like to bring in a big box store, but are looking at ways to share the wealth in the form of taxes for each city.

Planner John Jansen said Farr West officials requested he come and discuss the study he has been working on with Pleasant View.

Jansen said some good development ideas for the area would be a big box store, possibly some high-density housing and smaller convenience shopping centers. Little strip commercial areas seem to pop up randomly and often become vacant, he said, and it would be better to have a plan than to have businesses come and go and buildings left standing empty.

Jansen said both cities should discourage any more haphazard strip commercial development.

Mayor Doug Clifford said the residents’ income can also be important to support the developments there. Jansen said he had been studying the buying habits of people in the country and said some areas have more stores of a certain type and need, while in other areas people will drive out of the local circle to buy goods. Standard Examiner

WinCo’s new store in Layton remains on hold

WinCo Foods entered the Utah market with no less than five stores in Ogden, Roy, Midvale, West Valley City and Orem, along with plans for more.

But its aggressive expansion effort came to a halt last year in Layton after land was purchased and cleared for a new store. The goal was to have the store up and operating around the time Layton’s new interchange opened in November 2010.

A year and a half later, residents are still calling the city to inquire about what happened to the WinCo store that was supposed to be built there.

WinCo had planned to build a new store on 8.75 acres on the southwest corner of Gentile Street and Fort Lane in 2010, but company spokesman Mike Read said those plans are still on hold.

He said the five Utah stores are doing well, but that the company believes there isn’t enough demand to merit a sixth site in Layton. The company is still growing — it recently added new stores in Nevada, Arizona, California and Washington, Read says, but for the time being anyway, there are no plans for new Utah stores. Salt Lake Tribune

Bountiful office building given approval

A commercial site plan to construct a 3,500 square foot office building on a vacant lot at 265 East and 500 South has been given approval. The council recently voted 5-0 to approve both the preliminary and final commercial site plan proposed by Rainey Homes. The plan proposes a professional office building that will resemble a single family dwelling, even though the .25 acre lot is located in a Professional Office Neighborhood (PO-N) zone. Ogden Standard-Examiner

5-story building set for Kays Crossing in Layton

Layton's planning commission approved what will be, when completed, the tallest building in the city. "There might be a steeple or something out there that's taller, but I don't think so," said Ben Hart, Layton's economic development specialist. Kays Crossing will be a five-story building with 2,400 square feet of retail and 3,000 square feet of office space on the ground level and four levels of multifamily apartments. Kays Crossing will total 156,000 square feet covering 2.85 acres. The building will be between the two parking lots north of the Layton FrontRunner station, 255 S. Main St.

Standard-Examiner

Ogden OKs $9M bond for Hilton construction

Ogden city council has approved $9 million in facility bonds to help finance construction of a four-story Hilton Garden Inn Hotel at The Junction development downtown. Western States Lodging, based in Taylorsville, and Layton developer Kevin Garn are partnering to build the $13 million hotel and a $3 million underground, city-owned, public parking garage at 2275 Washington Blvd. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Woods Cross, West Bountiful pool resources, hope for jackpot

Two Davis County cities have joined with Davis County leaders to help develop a 900-acre plot of land they hope will eventually produce millions of new tax dollars. The private land, near the 500 South interchange of Legacy Parkway, is considered by officials to be a prime spot for mixed-use development.Kent Sulser, the Davis County Community and Economic Development director, said public money will be used to put the project into high gear.

Split into three adjoining development sections, the property has boundaries that cross into Woods Cross, West Bountiful and unincorporated Davis County land. Sulser and leaders from the two cities offered to work with the landowners to help develop a master plan for the undeveloped property as a way to smoothly integrate new development into the surrounding neighborhoods.

On Tuesday, Davis County Commissioners approved the creation of three community development agencies to help with the master planning.CDAs are a governmental construct; they are separate entities that help with public development of property. Ogden-Standard Examiner