3500 South: W. Valley Seeks Road to Success Saturday, November 27, 1999   BY REBECCA WALSH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE     WEST VALLEY CITY -- A stretch of road seems to hold this city's despair and desires.     From the Jordan River to Interstate 215, 3500 South is seven lanes of asphalt lined by a mess of aging strip malls and car repair shops, punctuated by a tavern or restaurant here and there. This street also just happens to be the easiest, if not the most scenic, way to the center of town -- to City Hall, Valley Fair Mall, the E Center and Hale Center Theater. West Valley's Main Goal: 3500 South Makeover     It's not the most auspicious of gateways and West Valley City leaders know that. Have known it for years. They want something different.     Combining the forces of redevelopment and urban design, city officials hope to turn 3500 South into something they can be proud of.     "If we're trying to create a central business district, this is our opportunity to do it," says City Manager John Patterson.     Between the "bookends" of the Jordan River and the freeway, as Patterson puts it, city leaders are creating one huge redevelopment area.     Already, two sections have been approved. Last spring, City Council members, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, approved one area from Redwood Road to about 1400 West. Last week, they declared the section of street and businesses east of there blighted. A redevelopment plan will follow in January. A third area, from Redwood Road to the freeway, still is just a concept.     "Every part of the city somewhere down the road may need this kind of action," says Mayor Gearld Wright. "It's not something we're excited to do, but sometimes redevelopment is needed to help an area."     Business owners are not convinced. Several protested the first redevelopment proposal. And another group is unhappy with the second, worried their property values will plunge or the city will try to take their businesses through condemnation.     Vince Julian owns two acres on the south side of 3500 South, home to Hubcap Heaven and White Elephant, where he sells used trucks and heavy equipment. He is circulating a petition against redevelopment among property owners -- eight signatures so far. Julian is waiting to see what the city's redevelopment plan includes before he turns in the petition.     He is suspicious of redevelopment.     "I don't believe that cities have the right to get into private enterprise and spend taxpayers' money to make a name for themselves. Growth is best handled by the people in the area," he says. "Why should everything be done instantly?"     West Valley City's first 3500 South redevelopment area has had mixed success. Walgreen's plans to replace a convenience store and clubs with a drugstore on Redwood Road fell through.     Food 4 Less is moving from its big box on the north side of the street to a new store in space once occupied by Chris & Dick's cabinet business. But that leaves their old building empty. And the company has two five-year options on the place to keep another grocery store from moving in.     "We haven't really solved the problem," acknowledges city Economic Development Director Bob Buchanan. "We've got to continue to work in that area."     Meantime, city leaders have recruited three groups of urban planners to craft a vision for the place and one patch in particular -- a few vacant acres West Valley City owns along the Jordan River.     City planners proposed a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use complex of offices, open space, housing and a multicultural center for the lot. Two years ago, a Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team or R/UDAT workshop of national architects applied their expertise to the street. A year later, area architects focused on the city property.     Now urban design visionary Peter Calthorpe's team of designers has crafted its own scheme for the street from the river to Redwood Road. West Valley City leaders want their block to be a focal point, a sort of example, for other developers and business owners along the street.     Calthorpe, consultant for the Envision Utah planning partnership, says the car-dominated thoroughfare eventually could be walkable.     "The neighborhood has the potential to be an environment where you could imagine people getting out of their cars and walking to local destinations," Calthorpe says. "It's not going to happen tomorrow. But over time, it could change.     "Sprawl just doesn't work the way it did for the last 40 years, and people are awake to that fact."                         © Copyright 1999, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The Salt Lake Tribune and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused without explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.