That's the scenario West Valley City officials are trying to put into motion as they wend their way through a federal-funding process designed to dramatically expand train and bus options in this western Salt Lake Valley community - and drive the creation of a 200-acre walkable city center in the process.

In that mix would be a five-mile, $239 million light-rail extension connecting Utah's second-largest city with Utah Transit Authority's north-south mainline. It would give commuters faster access to the rest of the valley, including the University of Utah campus - one of the state's largest employers.

But first things first.

"[Building the] hub says that local officials here spent resources and time in erecting the center and creating a terminus for light rail. It says we're ready for you to bring it to us," says Joseph Moore, West Valley City's community and economic-development director.

The planning for its transit projects has been under way for several years. The city is not alone.

Salt Lake City already has launched construction of its transit hub - at 600 West, between 200 South and 300 South. It needs additional federal money to finish its next phase.

And the Utah County cities of Orem and Provo also want to build hubs, initially for centralized bus service, but eventually for rail service.

Jeff Hawker, West Valley City's rails-project coordinator, joined with representatives from Orem, Provo and Salt Lake City last week in Washington, D.C. to lobby Utah lawmakers for transit-hub funding. They want $14 million for the new centers, betting that the collaborative effort "will bring the money sooner than if we bickered among ourselves and put them in a position where they'd have to divide babies," he says.

If the federal cash is forthcoming - the cities hope to know by January - then everyone "will get together and review the progress of each city's project. We agreed this will be civilized and congenial. So far that's what it's been," Hawker says.

For West Valley City's part, officials then can get serious with developers about designing a new city center focusing on the hub, City Hall and Valley Fair Mall.

"We're hoping that in two to three years we'll have made substantial progress on the physical facility of the [transit] center," says Hawker.

So far, the timeline for the transit center and light rail remains loose. It largely depends on how Congress decides to divide up available federal transit money among the Utah projects and dozens more nationwide.

A regional study, completed in January 2004, projected 2012 as a completion date for West Valley City light rail, but that date is only a target.

Meanwhile, three entities - The Boyer Co., Woodbury & Associates and Stonehenge Group - have expressed interest in joining with the city to develop the hub and a vibrant, walkable city center at 3500 South and 2700 West.

Later this month, city officials plan to announce which of the three developers will come on board.

West Valley's transit hub, in the works for several years, is now entering its second iteration.

Four years ago, city planners envisioned a five-story transit center that would span 2700 West, connecting Valley Fair Mall to City Hall.

Positive findings from a completed environmental assessment opened the door for federal funding, but negotiations with mall owners broke down, causing that proposal to stall.

"The mall went through several changes of ownership and we couldn't reach agreement with them on us using part of the mall in conjunction with the hub. So we had to let that money go to Ogden and Park City," which each built their own transit hubs, the city's Moore said. "We had to start over."

And start over they did, hoping the transit center, along with light rail to West Valley City, could finally get on the fast track.

The transit center's location has shifted to a site behind City Hall, at the juncture of Lehman Avenue (3590 South) and Market Street (2850 West).

A $200,000 environmental assessment for the new hub location, already budgeted from city funds, should be completed by the end of the year, Hawker says.

The city's legal team is reviewing an interlocal agreement with UTA - the City Council could vote on it later this month - that would launch the final environmental-impact study for West Valley's light-rail line. That study's $3 million cost is being shared by UTA and the city.

While West Valley City's transit-center hopes are well on track, there remains uncertainty about how quickly the federal government will be willing to help fund the critical light-rail component.

The January 2004 regional study - submitted by the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) - also has identified the 10-mile Mid-Jordan light-rail line as a candidate for completion within the next seven years. That $286 million line would use an existing rail corridor from the north-south mainline to run through Midvale, West Jordan and into South Jordan.

"The plan was very aggressive in terms of what we thought we could build by 2012," says Greg Scott, WFRC transportation planner.

Available dollars will limit what can be done - and when.

In the beginning, officials of West Valley City and the three Mid-Jordan cities agreed to cooperate in their quest for federal dollars.

Their hope: The projects would be built together and supporters of each line would not wage political warfare to get their line built first.

In early 2003, however, the Federal Transit Authority asked that the projects be separated.

"We thought we should oblige, because that's where the dollars come from," WFRC's Scott says, acknowledging that Mid-Jordan, with its right-of-way already in place, is further ahead in the process.

"West Valley's hub could operate independently without light rail" as a center for bus operations. "But in some small way, having the hub could advance them in the queue," Scott says.

Michael Allegra, UTA's chief capital-development officer, agrees.

"Their hub is an important component to getting the line - having their terminus up and running," Allegra says, pointing out that the West Valley City hub also would service all transit operations, including buses, on the west side.

Will supporters of the two lines, now collaborators, become rivals? If competition develops, it remains largely unspoken.

Allegra does not take sides. "We would like to think they are not in competition. We have strategies worked out so our goal is that they get built concurrently."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

In the Past:

* 2001: West Valley City is forced to pass on receiving federal funds for planned transit hub that would span 2700 West as negotiations with Valley Fair Mall prove unsuccessful.

* December 2004: After several months of work and public comment, West Valley's City Center Vision plan is adopted. It involves development of 200 acres around City Hall into a walkable downtown. Site of transit hub now behind City Hall, near Lehman Avenue.

* January 2005: Wasatch Front Regional Council adopts long-range transportation plan, placing West Valley City and Mid-Jordan rail lines in Phase 1, with projected completion dates in 2012.

* April 2005: Representatives of four Utah cities seeking transit hubs - Orem, Provo, Salt Lake City, West Valley City - lobby Utah congressional staff in Washington, D.C., for $14 million.

* May 2005: West Valley City to name the developer for city center/hub project. Interlocal agreement to be finalized between UTA and WVC for the $3 million final environmental-impact study for West Valley City light rail.

* December 2005: $200,000 environmental assessment study for West Valley's new transit hub location should be completed.

* January 2006: State will receive word how much federal funding is awarded for transit hubs.