The future of the old Granite High School is up in the air again after the South Salt Lake mayor vetoed the latest plan for its development. The city officials can’t seem to come to an agreement about what to put there.
The boarded-up Granite High School sits on 27 acres on 3300 South and 500 East. The school has been closed since 2009 and the City of South Salt Lake is still trying to come to an agreement about what to do with the land. The latest plan to build retail shops, homes and green space was rejected last week by Mayor Cherie Wood.
“Some version of what was presented would be, I think, OK,” Wood says. “But again, the concern was the size and scale of the retail use. How it was going to impact the traffic and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Wood and three city council members cited concerns about the developer’s suggestion to build a Walmart. Councilwoman Portia Mila represents the district where the empty school grounds sit. She says the city needs the tax revenue.
“But we want something good that’s going to be a positive influence in the community,” Mila says. “And I’m not saying that Walmart’s not going to be, but we just don’t want a big-box store like that. It’s just not right for that area.”
Mayor Wood says she doesn’t feel a sense of urgency to develop the land.
“If we develop a 100-year historical parcel in our city wrong… I think that there are more conversations that need to occur and questions that need to be answered before the proposed development moves forward,” Wood says.
In 2013 a plan to build a movie studio on the property fell through. Before that, voters rejected a $25 million bond to turn the school into a community center.
