Station Park, the shopping-and-office project coming together in central Davis County, will be a blessing to Farmington's tax cash box when it's finished, a city official says.
"It will contribute to our tax base, and that is good news during this period of economic downturn that the nation, the state and this community are facing," said City Manager Max Forbush.
Just how much tax revenue will flow depends on how big Station Park is when complete. And that depends on the final mix of retail versus office tenants -- and whether a hotel is built.
"We are hoping that it would be in excess of $1.5 million a year, but that's if all 1 million square feet is developed and if the area has a significant amount of retail," Forbush said.
The logjam keeping the long-stalled project from going forward broke apart last week when Harmons announced it would open an upscale grocery store and deli in early 2011.
It was a breakthrough, said Craig Trottier, a vice president at developer CenterCal Properties.
"With the slowdown in the economy, they are the first of the anchor tenants to say, 'Let's get open now,' '' he said. "For the past 18 months, most of the retailers have been asking us to push back their openings."
El Centro, Calif.-based CenterCal will start construction next spring on a 68,000-square-foot store for Harmons on the east side of the 62-acre property as soon as weather permits. Harmons expects to open with a long-term lease and 200 employees a year later.
At the same time, work will begin on the Cinemark movie theater anchoring Station Park's south end. The 14-screen theater also will open in early 2011. Cinemark didn't publicly announce its plan, but told CenterCal privately last year it would be a Station Park anchor.
"We are hopeful that, with the Harmons being constructed and also the Cinemark, those two projects will be the impetus for continued interest and development on the site ... [and] that within three to five years it will all be completed," Forbush said.
Other potential tenants are apparently in the wings. CenterCal's Trottier said he expects "a series" of businesses to announce their intentions in the next 30 to 90 days.
He said Station Park will have at least 800,000 square feet -- and possibly 1 million -- of leasable space. The final figure depends on whether CenterCal signs a hotel tenant and how big-box retailers will want their buildings configured.
Either way, the center ought to have a strong effect on shopping and dining in Davis County and other parts of northern Utah farther to the north. With 60 to 80 tenants, Station Park won't have has many stores and restaurants as the Layton Hills Mall in Layton (125 tenants) or the Newgate Mall in Ogden (more than 100).
Station Mall will have a bigger footprint, though. It should also feel more spacious.
Stores and offices will be sprinkled throughout an outdoor park-like setting, drawing people to the area, much like The Gateway, the pedestrian-friendly destination shopping district in Salt Lake City.
"Demographics certainly were a key for us," John Ward, Harmons' chief financial officer, said of his company's decision. "Davis County has been requesting a Harmons for a number of years. We just hadn't found the right location.
"Now the transit corridors of the Legacy Highway, Interstate 15, U.S. 89 and the new FrontRunner [commuter-rail system] all 'hub' right at that location," he said.
The Harmons store at Station Park will be patterned after the company's Bangerter Crossing flagship store in Draper. While Harmons announced it would occupy 68,000 square feet, the company is already thinking bigger.
"We think because we are so impressed with that location that it will go up to 71,000 square feet," CFO John Ward said.
The El Centro, Calif.-based developer was formed in 2004 to develop retail shopping properties across the West. It has finished six properties and is developing eight others. Its partner is the California State Teachers Retirement System, which is financing construction of Station Park.
