Once envisioned as a regional outlet mall, a 32-square-block tract of land west of Salt Lake City International Airport is rounding into shape now as an industrial park.
A 500,000-square-foot Costco warehouse already occupies part of what is known now as Westport Industrial Center, a development that stretches from 300 South to 700 South between 5600 West and 6400 West.
By Thanksgiving, Morgan Asphalt crews are likely to wrap up installing all of the infrastructure needed for owners of individual parcels to build the facilities they want.
"The intermodal railroad [spur] is within a half-mile, and that will bring a lot of warehousing to this area," said Simon Christensen, who has been involved in the project for nine years as the on-site representative of the California-based property owner, Forest City Enterprises.
When he first got involved after roughly 50 years in the construction industry, Christensen was dealing with what was then going to be the Grand Salt Lake Mall -- a $270 million "value-oriented megamall."
KFR Utah/Forest City Enterprises planned to build 1 million square feet of outlet shops, restaurants and movie theaters. It was such a potentially lucrative project that legislators agreed to bond for $6 million to improve the mall's primary intersection at Interstate 80 and 5600 West.
But former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson disliked the idea. He derided it as the "sprawl mall" and contended it would hurt other Salt Lake City businesses while encouraging people to drive more to buy goods.
In August of 2000, the City Council backed Anderson's position and refused to grant a zoning change for the proposed commercial project or to extend $14.5 million in subsidies. The mall died.
Christensen said the owners shifted directions about four years ago, going the industrial-park route. Three warehouses have been built -- the other two, while smaller than Costco's, each still cover 300,000 square feet. A fourth is under construction.
But there is room for plenty more, and Christensen noted that "all of the land has been sold to private owners."
While he knows nothing about their individual development plans, Christensen said he is pleased to see the infrastructure nearly complete. "Everyone gets a certain satisfaction from completing a job."
Thomas Morgan, president of Salt Lake City-based Morgan Asphalt, said 30 of his people worked on the project all summer. They graded the former lake bottom and are installing water and sewer lines and storm drains.
Subcontractor Harper Concrete built curbs and gutters, while Skyline Electric put in all the power lines needed for street lighting and pump stations. Now Morgan's crews are laying down asphalt for the roads and parking lots that will be used by semitrailers serving the warehouses.
"A lot of our suppliers say this is the biggest projects in town that isn't UDOT [Utah Department of Transportation] or City Center," the massive downtown Salt Lake City mall development, said Morgan of the $5.7 million contract. "We're thankful to have that project in this economy. This one job has consumed 40 percent of our resources through the summer."
Morgan's crews installed more than two miles of sewer pipe, similar amounts of pipe for the culinary water and storm-drain systems, and four miles of electrical conduit.
"The biggest challenge was the sewer line," he noted. "It's so flat out there that it drops just one inch every 100 feet. That's extremely flat."
