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West Valley City Kicks Off New Phase Of Redevelopment Project

The skyline in West Valley City is changing as the second phase of a major redevelopment project gets underway. 

City Manager Wayne Pyle said the Fairbourne Station project buildings will add density and height where the city lacks a downtown. The facelift includes a new public safety building for the police force.

Pyle said the $25 million project will be done in 2019. 

“We actually have put up the construction fence, cleared the site and we’re on our way to building that one right now,” said Pyle, though it’s on a smaller scale than the four-year-old police headquarters in Salt Lake City. 

“It will be nothing like the size and expense of the Salt Lake one, but for us, it’s needed and fiscally cost-effective, but at the same time will be big enough to allow us to grow into our needs over time,” said Pyle.

West Valley expects to grow its police force of 204 by roughly 10 percent, with plans for the new facility to accommodate that. Pyle said the development project has been planned for years to cluster retail, government and housing to create a center in the suburban city that is Utah’s second largest. 

Fairbourne Station is already operating after phase one brought a bus and light rail transit hub, hotel, and apartment complex. 

Phase two’s groundbreaking means progress on a planned office tower, residential development, and a 100-thousand square foot building to house Granger Medical

“We’ve broken ground on this and will start construction in earnest this winter or in the early spring depending on the weather the new 100,000 square foot headquarters,” said Pyle, calling them a longtime medical and corporate partner for West Valley.

The 40 acres of the project are adjacent to Valley Fair Mall, where that million square feet serves as the largest retail operation in West Valley City.

It’s an incremental process.  Phase three will include a housing mix, remodeling of some aging facilities and moving of some of the other public safety functions, like the court. Pyle said there were many years of discussion before any digging started.

“We’re excited to have new residents and commercial tenants in the properties, and really excited to see it kick off,” said Pyle.

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